The Mew War
by tgwWhale
Summary: Anyone who has ever been a teenager knows how being a star can go to someone's head.  We've all seen it with jocks, singers, and who knows what else.  What happens with those who save the world with powers beyond human...?
1. Chapter 1

_This story is set within the year after the last Sailor Moon animated series. Thus Sailor Moon and her companions are about 16 years old.  
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_It is assumed that the animated Tokyo Mew Mew adventures occurred at about the same time, but they lasted only a year. The last Sailor Moon season is assumed to have been contemporary to the last manga involving the Mew Mews ("Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode," which I have never read). This would make Mew Ichigo about a year younger than the Sailor Senshi. Mew Zakuro is older. I believe that the manga (which I have never read) said she was 15 (when Ichigo was 13). However, the anime hinted that she was older - which makes a lot more sense, given the character - and this story pictures her about 20 years old, maybe 21 or 22.  
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_I am aware that the magical attack formulae for the Mew Mews may not in fact include the word "ribbon." I read that it was actually a Japanese word, or was connected to the English "reborn." However, all of the fansubs I have seen say "ribbon," so that is the word I use.  
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_Since animes seem to use foul language at times, the characters in this story use some bad language, too. The amount of violence, and the amount of foul language, is roughly that of the Sailor Moon and Mew Mew animes that I have seen.  
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_I do not know Japanese, so Japanese terms may be misused. For example, I don't know if "senshi" (as in "Sailor Senshi") is singular, plural, both, or neither. I use it for both singular and plural, and I apologize if such terms are misused._

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Sailor Moon and the Sailor Senshi 

in 

The Mew War 

The sun shone down on that early-summer day, and the breeze blew in the trees of the park, and all seemed right with the world. Usagi would not be hurried as she strolled through the paths of the park woods with her friends Rei and Minako. School was out of session for the summer, and cram school and Usagi were not things ever mentioned together. So for a short time, at least, there was nothing to worry about: just a summer of fun and parties and boyfriends. 

They had left the paved road behind and wandered through the trees. In most years the mosquitoes could be thick once the road was left behind. But not this year, and so they lingered on the hidden paths, and wandered down the hill. Then they came out of the woods, where they knew there was a hidden pond. The sun shone down on them, making Minako's golden tresses glow, and shining even upon the midnight-black hair of mystical, mysterious Rei. 

Then Rei stopped, and said: "Wait! There's an aura here."

And they stopped. They had known Rei long enough to know that her ability to sense magical auras was strong. They looked around, searching for some monster or alien that might threaten them. But none could they find; they were alone there, on the open lawn down near that pond, except for one girl, probably a teen-ager, with red hair, a pale sweater, and a short skirt. Where could the danger lie? 

And then Minako said suddenly, "Look at that girl! I think she's one of _them._" 

Usagi didn't catch on, at first. "What do you mean, one of them? Who's _them?"_

Minako rolled her eyes a bit. It always seemed to take Usagi a while to catch on to anything. So she said, "One of those girls from the TV show. One of those so-called heroes." Before going to the park, they and their friends Ami and Makoto had been watching a daytime TV show called "Where Are They Now?" The show usually concerned some singer, actress, or idol from years past who had disappeared from public view, but that day's episode had concerned a group of Magical Girls that had appeared on the TV news a year or so before. They had gotten quite a bit of notoriety, and had been billed by some as "Tokyo's True Heroes." Then they had dropped off the map, and no one had heard about them for several months. But the girl down by the pond certainly looked like the blowhard they had seen, shooting her mouth off on that old news report they had seen on the show, and generally flirting with the world as she did so. 

Finally, Usagi understood, and asked, "Are you sure she's the one? The one on the TV had a tail. This girl looks normal." 

Minako snorted. "Duh... Maybe the tail is the result of her transformation, rather like the angel wings of this other magical girl I know." 

Usagi took a second to figure that one out, too. "Oh, you mean me, when I do the super transformation. Yes, I suppose - she really looks like the girl on the TV. I mean - look at that ridiculous hair, except that it's not pink. And the pink, " she added knowingly, "might be the result of her transformation." She smiled, thinking that she had scored a point. 

But Minako rolled her eyes. "You, Usagi, shouldn't talk about ridiculous hair." Usagi's blonde pigtails trailed nearly to the ground. 

Suddenly, Rei broke into the conversation. "It's her! She's the one with the aura. She's either a magical girl, or a monster." 

"Well, we'll find out, " said Usagi, and she led them down to the girl by the pond. The girl seemed distracted, staring at the water, and they got very close without her noticing them. So Usagi said to her, "Hey, you!" 

The girl was jerked out of some dreamy-eyed reverie, and turned to Usagi and her companions. "What?" she asked, looking very puzzled. "Who are you?" 

"Who are _you?"_ Usagi demanded. 

The girl's eyes searched first Usagi, then Minako, then Rei; but they registered no understanding. "I don't know who you are, and I don't know what you want. But if you're mad at me or something, I wish you'd tell me why." 

It was Rei who spoke next. "You don't know who we are, but you should. And as for you, we want to know your name." 

The girl seemed frightened a bit, and stepped back from the other three. "My name - my name is Momomiya Ichigo. And yours?" 

Each of the girls answered in turn. "Tsukino Usagi." "Hino Rei." "Aino Minako." And then Usagi asked, in straightforward fashion: "Are you one of those Mew Mews we saw on the TV? You know, 'Tokyo's Real Heroes,' as they called them?" 

"That's no business of yours," the red-haired girl said.

"But it is," Usagi said. "You Mew Mews have been getting a lot of press, showing off, acting like this is your town. Well, we were here first. You're just a copy of us, and not half as good. We're Tokyo's _real_ heroes, and we don't like it when some new hotshots think they can take over our town." 

"Tokyo's a pretty big town," the girl, Ichigo, said. "And we live here, and that's that. I don't know who you are, but you've got a lot of brass in you, coming down here and telling me whose town this is, as if I don't belong." The girl was getting her back up, and very quickly. "So you say it's your town. Just who do you claim you are, if you're so great?" 

Usagi posed, and said: "Sailor Moon." And Rei added, "Sailor Mars." And Minako finished, "Sailor Venus." Minako had already sent a signal to the other Sailor Senshi on her cell phone, just in case their support was needed. Things were beginning to look ugly. 

The red-haired girl shrugged. "Really? Sailor Moon? I thought she was just a Halloween costume for children." 

"You really think you're hot stuff, don't you!" Usagi barked. "We were saving Tokyo long before anyone ever heard of Mew Mews. It's just that we never got on TV. But we're the REAL heroes around here."

"Well, REAL heroes," Ichigo said, "I wish you'd leave me alone. If you saved Tokyo, or Japan, or the world, it's news to me." 

Usagi snorted. "I defeated Queen Beryl and saved the world. I defeated Galaxia and saved the universe." She looked down at the red-haired upstart. "Just who do you think you are, coming into my town and thinking you could take over?"

Ichigo cringed. Usagi had plenty of backup with Rei and Minako behind her, while she stood alone. But Ichigo had always been brave, to a fault; and something had changed in her after her conquest of Deep Blue, and even more so after she had returned from England and defeated Berri to once again become leader of the Mew Mews. Now, maybe, she had become proud. She would not back down. "We defeated the aliens, and their chimera animas, and we saved the world, too! We have as much right to be here as you do!"

Usagi spread her feet and waved her finger in the red-haired girl's face. "Once? You say you've saved the world once? Well, we saved the world _five times!_ We're Tokyo's heroes, and you'd better learn that, you cocky little smart-ass!" 

"Really? Five times?" the girl retorted. "Sounds to me like you can't do the hero thing right, and you have to do it over and over!" 

Usagi's blue yes blazed. "You stinking little bitch!" her voice hissed. "You'd better accept us as the real heroes now, or..." 

"Or, what?" Ichigo interrupted the blonde's speech. "Just what am I supposed to do, to accept you? Maybe kiss your fat butt?" 

Usagi's eyes went wild. If Ichigo had changed since becoming a hero, Usagi had changed much more. She was far from the girl she had been. Since the fall of Galaxia, there had been no serious challenge to her power. As far as she was concerned, she was already Princess Serenity, and Mamoru was already hers. And she knew that these new so-called magical girls were just pale shadows of the Sailor Senshi. She had taken all she could take from this loud-mouthed braggart, and she lifted her magic pendant and called out, "Moon Crystal Power, MAKE-UP!" 

She leaped into the air and began spinning, and she transformed into her alter-ego, Sailor Moon. But Ichigo was not idle. She knew what was coming, so she seized her own pendant, kissed it, and called out: "Mew Mew Strawberry, METAMORPHO-SIS!" She, too, transformed, and she did it more quickly than Usagi - Sailor Moon's transformation was a seemingly endless process. She was standing there, pink hair, cat ears, tail, and all, her hands on her hips, when Sailor Moon finally finished her change. 

Then the blonde posed, showing off plenty of thigh as she always did, and spoke her line: "In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!" 

Ichigo did not respond at first, but just glared at her rival. Then her face softened, and she spoke, seemingly in all innocence: "Punish me for what?" 

Sailor Moon stopped, suddenly taken aback. "For... for... " she stammered. She had expected nothing of the sort. Her two compatriots stood aside, somewhat smirking as they watched the wheels of Usagi's mind turn so very slowly. Rei in particular always enjoyed it when Usagi's shortcomings were exposed. She had always been Usagi's rival, and had always considered herself at least a bit better than her more famous companion. But Sailor Moon finally spoke: "Punish you for disrespecting the Moon Princess, and for trying to take over our town." Then she smirked: "And for being such a FREAK with those _baka_ cat ears!" 

A look came over the pink-haired girl's face, a look of such frightening determination that others might have fled from it; but not Sailor Moon. Spinning again, she raised her Moon Scepter, pointed it, and proclaimed: "Moon Crystal Power... Crush!" The magic poured from the wand, and crashed upon the cat-eared girl in pink. Mew Ichigo raised her hand and caught her Strawberry Bell, and she held it with both hands before her. But the power of Moon magic crashed over her, driving her back and then to her knees. The barrier of her Bell was falling, the magic was crushing her... 

Then the blast stopped. The Moon Princess had poured everything she had into that blast, and it was enough to stop any enemy she had ever faced. As the magic light cleared, she looked, gloating, at her victim. Then her mouth dropped open. Mew Ichigo still knelt, and now she struggled to stand! 

The girl in pink still had that same terrible determination in her eyes as she half-staggered - forward. She held the Strawberry Bell in front of her with her left hand and used her right to try to hold her balance. One step, another, another, she advanced on Sailor Moon. 

Once again the Moon Princess leaped into the air and spun. "Moon Crystal Power... DESTROY!" she chanted, and again the silver crystal on the end of her staff poured its deadly magic upon the cat-eared girl. But Sailor Moon had invested too much of her power into the first spell, and this blast was shorter, and weaker, and this time Ichigo did not even go to her knees. A third time Sailor Moon leaped up and began spinning, sure that one more blast would finish the little fool once for all. 

But now her rival was far too close to her for that, and as Usagi spun, Ichigo leaped up, and her pink-booted foot lashed a savage kick into the blonde's ribs, crumpling her up. And as the Princess fell, Ichigo spun, and her boot crashed upside her enemy's head. Sailor Moon hit the ground in a heap. 

Then Ichigo leaped into the air, spinning, and screamed her war chant: "Ribbon... Strawberry... SURPRISE!" The power leaped from the Strawberry Bell, power that flowed from the searing flame of Ichigo's spirit. The blast crashed into the stunned, defenseless Sailor Moon and hurled her back, bouncing her body along the ground. Then the magic burst ended, and all was suddenly still. The great Sailor Moon lay broken in the dirt on her belly, her clothes torn, her scepter now lifeless in the dust near her right hand. She had held it to the end, but it had not been enough. She twitched feebly once, and made some vain attempt to rise. But she had nothing left within her. She gasped and then lay still, utterly defeated. 

The victorious Ichigo walked toward her victim. She struggled with the temptation to strut in her pride. She had never felt like this before. She had bested Sailor Moon in single combat. She was the top Mahou Shoujo in all of Tokyo! She stood over the fallen heroine, her right hand holding the Strawberry Bell, her left hand planted on her hip. She felt a twinge of pity for the beaten Moon Princess; she expected to feel this. It was part of her make-up. Sailor Moon had been a great heroine and had saved the world and everything else. But this was Ichigo's moment, now. She planted her booted foot on Usagi's curvy butt and raised the Strawberry Bell in triumph. 

Yes, Ichigo had changed; but not enough. She was still too naive. It was too late when she heard the shout behind her: "Venus... Love-Me... CHAIN!" She jerked the Strawberry Bell between herself and the shout, but she had little magic left, either. She had taken too hard a blow from Sailor Moon, and had expended too much in her attack; her magic fire burned low. The Love-Me Chain lashed about her, battering her. But that was not the worst. She was defenseless to the next shout: "Mars... Fire... SOUL!" Rei's savage shot crashed into her back, and for Ichigo, everything went black. 

Venus and Mars kept hurling magic attacks upon the broken girl, knocking her beaten body into a bloody heap. They were wild with anger and hatred after seeing Sailor Moon fall, and no pity or reason would hold them back. Once again Sailor Venus leaped into the air, and spun as she shouted, "Venus... Love..." 

But a brutally strong arm seized her, cutting off her attack. With wild eyes she twisted upon her attacker, and looked into the green eyes of Sailor Jupiter. "Stop! Stop!" the big girl was screaming. "Stop! This is murder!"

"Traitor!" Venus shrieked at Jupiter. "She killed Sailor Moon!" 

"BAKA!" another voice screamed, louder than all the rest. Sailor Mercury was holding the fallen Sailor Moon against her breast, and a small smile was visible on the blonde's face. "You fool! Usagi's a long way from dead!" The action stopped suddenly. Ami was always the quiet one, but now she was in charge. "Stop it now! Two against one who's helpless is nothing but cold-blooded murder!" 

Rei settled on the ground next to their broken enemy. Ichigo's left leg was broken and twisted at a terrible angle. Her once-pretty face was mangled almost beyond recognition, and it looked as if her neck was probably broken, and maybe her skull was crushed, too. And all her skin was flayed and burned from the magic blasts. 

Rei reached down, and touched the battered girl, then shook her; but there was no response. Then she looked up. "Too late for that now, Ami. I think she's dead as a doornail." 

"No!" Jupiter shouted. "What have you done? Are we now villains - murderers?" 

_"Baka!"_ Mars sneered in return. "Your fat butt had nothing to do with this, so leave that _we_ thing out of this. It was me, and Venus. If we hadn't attacked, she would have killed our Princess. And worse, she planted her foot on her, shamed her. That deserves death, and more than death. She got what she deserved." 

Ami spoke quietly now. "We saw what she did, when we were running up. Maybe you have forgotten that there's a difference between a fair fight and two girls attacking one - one already hurt - without warning." 

Anger rose in Sailor Mars's eyes, but before she could speak, another voice shouted, "Ribbon... Lettuce... RUSH!" The water blast crashed into Rei and bowled her along the ground. With a savage "Ribbon... Zakuro... SPEAR!" Mew Zakuro's whip wrapped around the middles of both Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus and the burning magical pain ripped through them. And suddenly Mew Pudding's Ring Inferno buried both Ami and Usagi in a constraining and constricting magical pudding. Too late; but Ichigo's reinforcements had arrived. 

Mew Mint's arrow blasted Sailor Mars, who was already reeling from Lettuce's attack. But the Sailor Senshi were hardened fighters all, and never ones to run from a fight. Jupiter's electrical attack ripped Mint and Venus's Chain attack lashed at Lettuce. The battle was growing wild, with eight magical girls fighting each other - maybe to the death! 

But Mew Zakuro dropped out. She was older, and wiser, and knew things that the rest did not; and she held next to her heart a tiny fragment of Mew Aqua that she had secretly saved from the final battle with the aliens. She knelt next to the battered wreckage that had been Mew Ichigo and laid her dark-maned head upon the fallen girl's breast. And she felt what the others could not have: still, feebly but truly, Ichigo's heart still beat. She drew the broken body against her heart and whispered whatever prayers she knew as she pressed the Aqua fragment against Ichigo's heart. And she felt the power of the Mew Aqua surge through her own body, and Ichigo's. She screamed: "Lettuce! Pull her leg straight!" Sweet Lettuce heard, even in the midst of deadly battle, and came running. She jerked the broken leg out and with bloody hands held the broken ends together while the Mew Aqua's warmth flowed through them all. And then, as if from one returned from the dead, Ichigo's eyes opened a little; and she whispered, or gasped: "NO! You must go, all of you. Stop the fight." Then the pink-haired girl sank back into the darkness with one last whisper: "I... command... it." 

Zakuro wanted to object. She wanted to make those evil thugs pay for what they had done to Ichigo. But she knew in her heart that Ichigo, as usual when the chips were down, was right: if they fought here to the end, many would die. Maybe all of them would die. And certainly, Ichigo would die. And as a good Samurai, Zakuro would obey her leader to the end, and Ichigo was their leader and no other. She stood and spoke in a commanding voice: "Mint! Pudding! Let's Go!" 

"But we're winning!" shrieked little Pudding. 

Zakuro had no time for that. "Pudding, Ichigo commands it! Go!" Then she turned to Lettuce. "Lettuce, you carry Ichigo. Don't worry, you're strong enough. I'll guard the rear." Lettuce picked up the broken Ichigo and staggered off, while behind her the shout of "Ribbon... Zakuro SPEAR!" and a bright flash told her that Mew Zakuro was breaking the magical attacks against them, maybe at the cost of her life. Then Pudding came to help, and they carried Ichigo's body away from the terrible place of battle. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sailor Jupiter raised herself from the ground. The pain! How that accursed whip hurt! And that purple-clad girl was so quick, such a tough target. But the battle was over; she was gone. Jupiter had taken upon her own body those last lashes that were meant for the battered Venus. Those were terrible shots, but Jupiter was strong. And as she lay on the ground she had gotten one last good electrical shot into that purple freak, and that seemingly had driven her off. She looked about and saw Sailor Mercury lifting a badly injured Venus to her feet; it surely looked as if the blonde would make it. A few yards away Sailor Moon sat on the ground, looking stunned and somewhat stupid, but very much alive. A smile touched Jupiter's lips; Rei thought that Usagi always looked stupid. Then Jupiter looked around. Where was Rei? 

She gingerly stepped over to where the purple-clad Mew Mew had fought. The ground was burned and scarred from magic, and there were other stains there. She bent down and touched one; it was red, and wet. Blood. Shedding blood was rare in magical combat; that girl had taken a terrible beating, yet had fought bravely to the end. What was her name? They had learned only a little about these so-called Mew Mews; that one was... Zakuro, for the name of her weapon was Zakuro Spear. Swift and strong and brave, she would be a tough opponent, when the Sailor Senshi finally brought her down. 

She stepped slowly over to Ami and Minako. Minako had been hurt pretty badly by that whip, the Zakuro Spear. Ami was doing her best to soothe her, but the blonde's eyes were filled with pain - and anger. "You all right?" Makoto asked, and the blonde girl turned on her with a gaze of such hatred that Makoto stepped back. 

"Damn you, you traitor!" Minako spat the words at her. "You nearly got me killed! I swear, when I get over this hurt... I'll pound you so hard that..." 

"Mina-Chan... " began Makoto, but Ami silenced her with a raised hand. 

"Not now, Makoto," the blue-eyed girl half-whispered. "Just leave her alone. Go take care of that fool Usagi."

Jupiter's eyes popped wide open. Never had she heard gentle Ami speak cruelly about anyone, and certainly not about Usagi. All their hearts were hurting; defeat did that. They had somehow driven off those stinking Mew Mews, but Makoto could not help feeling that they had lost the fight. She bent down and, with her great strength, lifted Usagi to her feet. The girl's legs were like jelly, and she could not walk on her own. She had to be taken somewhere. Maybe the shrine; but Makoto didn't think that Usagi needed Rei's sarcasm now. No, she would take the girl to her home, and hope she could hide this from Usagi's family, who still didn't know that Usagi was Sailor Moon. 

But then she stopped. Where was Rei? She looked around, and Ami was walking over to her. "You take care of these two," she said. "I'll look for Rei." 

"I'll go with you," Makoto began, but Ami shook her head. 

"You're hurt," she said simply. "And someone has to stay with these two, in case those bitches come back. Someone has to protect them." 

Makoto reached out and took Ami's arm. "Ami-Chan!" she said, quite loudly. "Why are you acting like this? You never curse, you never use bad language. You never get angry like this. What's going on?" 

Pain filled Ami's huge blue eyes. "We have been such _bakas!_ I hate it when I'm a fool! I took such pride in my mind, my wisdom, my knowledge. And now look! We got ourselves into a stupid war with other magical girls, and they kicked our butts. We don't know if Usagi will ever recover her power, and without her, we'll almost surely lose. And maybe die! Now, I know that's part of the game when you're Sailor Senshi - hey, we gave our lives to protect Usagi when she fought Queen Beryl - but that was to save the world. This fight is just for stupid pride. Usagi got hurt badly, and Minako. And you're hurt, too! And Rei went after them by herself - she's probably dead by now. If she is, I'll never forgive myself!" Bitter tears rolled down her cheeks. "One against four - Rei-chan doesn't have much of a chance." 

Makoto reached out and touched Ami's tear-moistened cheek. "Rei is strong," she whispered. "She'll make it." 

Ami wept even more loudly than before. "Rei-chan... is so proud. And with that temper of hers, she'll blunder right into their ambush." She turned away from Jupiter. "Take these two to safety, no matter what. Minako hates you now, and she in her fool pride will say no. Don't care what she says. Use your strength, pick her up and carry her if you have to, and take her to your place. She doesn't have family around; no one will notice she's not back in her own place. As for Usagi..."

Makoto spoke quietly. "I've thought of that. I'll have to take her to her home. I hope to keep her out of sight from her parents, but what happens, happens. She should be going to a hospital, but I don't suppose that we can bring her in and say she was hurt in a magic fight." 

Ami, her eyes still filled with tears, in her turn reached out and touched Makoto's cheek, and her words were so choked that Makoto could barely hear them. "Mako-chan, Dearest Sailor Jupiter. If I don't make it back ... " Makoto gasped, but the blue-eyed girl hushed her, and continued, "... if I don't make it back, know that I love you, that I loved you all to the end. Good-by, dear friend." Then she turned away and headed off the way she had seen Rei run, and the tears rolled down Makoto's cheeks. 


	3. Chapter 3

Ami could see the prostrate form lying there in the open. She could see the bright red skirt; it was Sailor Mars, certainly. She wasn't dead, not yet; she was still trying to move. The road on which she lay was empty. Ami knew she had to move fast, for Rei was clearly badly hurt. And certainly people would have seen the fight here, on a public street, and the police would be coming. She wanted to run to her friend's side, but she was no fool. She was sure those accursed Mew Mews were out there, watching, using poor Rei as bait. She would be struck down long before she got to her friend's side. She could not see where her enemies hid, so she slipped on her magical goggles. But even these did not show up those freaks. 

But she had a plan. Spinning in the air, she chanted: "Bubble... SPRAY!" And the thick fog that spilled from her hands enveloped the entire street, blinding her enemies, and everyone else. But not Sailor Mercury; she had her magical goggles on, and with these she could see the fallen Mars clearly. She ran to her friend's side, and rolled her over. The battered girl weakly tried to fight her, but Ami said: "Rei-chan!" And that was enough. Sailor Mars knew she was safe. 

Mercury lifted her injured friend to her feet. She was not strong like Sailor Jupiter, but she was desperate. Mars was too weak to walk, so Mercury grasped her wrists, slung her friend's arms over her shoulders, and carried her away on her back. She started back the same way she had come, but then thought the better of it, and turned off the street to her left, slipping between the houses there. She kept hurrying in that direction, until she finally emerged from the bubble cloud. 

And then someone spoke: "That was quite a neat trick, girl." 

Ami spun to her left, and there stood that purple Mew Mew. Zakuro! And Ami was in no position to fight! She could only hold onto one of Rei's arms with her left hand while she drew out her magical pendant with her right. She held the pendant before her, but she knew it would not protect her from that whip, the Zakuro Spear. 

The young woman in purple walked up. She had the big ears and bushy tail of a wolf. She did not seem the least bit afraid; she was so full of confidence! She had gashed wounds on her left arm and right leg, and both had bled quite freely, though they were not bleeding now. In her right hand she held that crosslike thing that would spawn the whip. And Ami knew: that whip would take her life. 

But Ami would not cringe, or run, or drop her friend. She was a Sailor Senshi and would die like one. She kept facing the woman in purple. Zakuro advanced until she stood only a few feet away. Ami could read nothing clearly in her eyes, but those sapphire eyes were dark and very hard. Then Ami spoke: "How did you find us?" 

Zakuro spoke in a low voice. "When you cast the smoke screen spell, we figured what you were doing, and so we scattered around the edge of the cloud in hope of catching you when you came out. I got lucky." 

Ami's mind was racing. She wondered if she could get a spell off before the whip ripped her. But she knew that any use of magic would bring the rest of the Mew Mews, and that would be the end of them. Her own death she could give. But she had no right to sacrifice Rei's life. There had to be a way out of this! 

And so she spoke again: "Before you kill me, I want to ask you a question." The girl in purple nodded, and Ami continued, "You're _the_ Zakuro, surely. Fujiwara Zakuro, the famous model, the actress, the idol. Why do you run around with that loser Mew Mew crowd? They're just children next to you." 

The dark-haired woman studied her enemy before answering. "I suppose I could say it's none of your business. Or I could say that I was chosen to be Mew Zakuro, just as you were born to be Sailor Mercury. It wasn't my choice, or yours. Or I could say that no role in a movie can compare to saving the world for real. Or maybe it's because of Ichigo." 

Ami sneered a little in spite of her situation. "Ichigo? So she's good in bed, or something?" 

Almost more quickly than Ami could even see, the Mew Mew's hand lashed out past the pendant and slapped Ami across the face. Then the older girl mastered her temper and spoke through gritted teeth. "You stinking pervert! I love Ichigo because her heart is pure, because she's the bravest of us, and the strongest. She's simple-minded but her mind is right. It restores my faith in humanity just to be with her, to fight beside her, to laugh with her, to cry with her. You think I'm a fool for saying this, but it's a hard life being an idol, to have creepy old perverts pawing at me, to have jerks offering movie roles or recording contracts if I'll crawl into bed with them. Men, boys, women, girls, I've had 'em all hit on me. And not one of them cares at all - well, maybe one of them does. And then I see Ichigo, with her sweet, simple, crazy-faithful love for her boyfriend, and that strength of spirit to do the right thing. I'm the oldest and the most famous, but Ichigo is our leader, and I would follow her anywhere." 

Ami looked down. "You mean, she _was _your leader. She's dead, now." 

"And you will pay for what happened to Ichigo," Zakuro said, her teeth again clenched. 

Ami looked at the wolf-girl. "I wasn't the one who took down your Ichigo." 

Zakuro raised the hand with the cross. "No. When we got there, you were helping Sailor Moon. But one of the fiends that tortured Ichigo is the one you carry on your back. And she should die for what she did." 

The girl in purple looked into Ami's eyes. "And now, I have a question for you. When they fought, who started it? Who transformed first? Ichigo, or Sailor Moon?" 

Ami bit her lip, looked down, and muttered, "Your girl. Mew Ichigo. She transformed and attacked Usagi..." 

The purple Mew's hand seized her by the shoulder. "You lie!" The words came through clenched teeth; the girl was furiously angry. 

"And how do you know?" Ami half-shouted, still looking down. Finally she looked up. "You weren't there!" 

The girl in purple looked straight into Ami's eyes. "I know because you're a very bad liar and can't look me in the eyes when you lie. And because I know Ichigo, and she wouldn't have done it!" 

"Then why did you ask me?" Ami demanded. 

"To see if you lie!" Mew Zakuro said. She raised the cross. The whip was coming! 

Ami shoved her pendant forward, almost into Zakuro's face, and began her chant, but it went nowhere. From behind strong hands tore Rei from her grip, and then wrestled Ami herself to the ground. Mew Lettuce was no Sailor Jupiter, but she was strong, far stronger than anyone would have expected such a bookworm to be. She twisted the wrist and got Ami to drop her pendant, which Zakuro immediately scooped up. Then Lettuce dragged Ami to her feet, and as Ami looked around, she saw that two Mews - one clad in blue, the other in yellow - held Rei. Anger against her own foolishness rose in her heart again. Ami had gotten taken up into conversation with that Zakuro, and had not seen the other Mews come up silently behind her. 

"Let's take them to the car," Zakuro said. 

"Why not kill them here and be done with it?" the Mew in blue said. 

"Mint!" Mew Zakuro said with a hard voice. "Because police will be here any minute. And because I want to get information from them, to make sure we can beat the rest of them, too. And because... we're not cold-blooded murderers. And you know you're not, either, Mint." Zakuro spoke with disgust and was clearly talking down to the younger Mew. Ami noticed the hurt and anger in Mint's eyes when Zakuro spoke to her that way. Perhaps she could find an advantage in that? Ami certainly needed every advantage she could get. 

They marched her away. The Bubble Spray had cleared, now, and Ami was sure that people could see them, but these Mew Mews didn't seem to care. The street they were on joined another, and on that street was a fancy black sports car, a four-door convertible with the top down. They pushed Rei into the front seat, and Zakuro got behind the wheel. Ami noticed Mew Ichigo's body in the back, still dirty, bloody, and battered, still dressed in the torn pink dress that had been her magical uniform. Her tail lay limp across the seat and down to the floor of the car, and to Ami that looked so pitiful. She had been so strong, so full of life, a few minutes ago; and now that was all gone forever. Ami's eyes filled with tears of pity and shame, and she turned away. The little Mew in yellow climbed into the back seat with the body. Then the car sped away. 

The Mew Mew in green still held Ami's arm twisted behind her back. Ami muttered, "I suppose we have to walk." 

The green Mew responded, "No room in the car." Then the blue Mew came and stood in front of her, looked her in the eye - and slammed a fist into her middle, knocking the air from her. Ami's knees gave way, but the green Mew held her up. "No need for that," the green Mew said; and the blue Mew responded, "I guess not..." Then she dug her fist into Ami's belly again, and again, and again. The green Mew dropped Ami, and seized the arm of the blue. "Mint, stop!" the green demanded. But the blue kicked Ami several times savagely before the green pushed her away. 

The green was angry, now. "Damn it, Mint, every time you have any little dust-up with Zakuro-san, you get ugly!" 

Fire blazed wildly in the blue's eyes. "Don't you try to push me around, you big turd..." Ami thought they would go at it, but the girl in blue instead spun and stalked off. The green Mew bent down and picked Ami up. She was stronger than she looked. From behind, she held Ami, and spoke: "Can you stand?" Ami nodded, and the girl released her. "Now, transform back," she said. Ami did so, with some difficulty, for she had been hurt quite badly. The Mew Mew also transformed, to reveal a green-haired schoolgirl with large eyeglasses. The girl said, "We walk. And don't try anything. I'm a lot stronger than Mint is, and you're hurt already. And I've got my pendant, and you don't." Then the girl seized Ami's left arm, twisted it again behind her back, and started marching her up the road. 

They walked for several blocks before a red sports car driven by a blond young man pulled up. Ami was unceremoniously pushed in, and the car sped off. The green-haired girl followed on foot, and quickly was lost far behind... 


	4. Chapter 4

Makoto helped the battered Usagi to the door. They had taken a taxi to Makoto's house, where they left Minako; they had had nearly enough money for cab fare, and Makoto had flirted with the cabbie and told him that Usagi and Minako had been drinking and had been involved in a barroom brawl, and now were basically too loaded to walk. The fool had bought the story, and that got them as far as Jupiter's own house. It took quite a bit more flirting, and the rest of the money that Makoto had in the house, to get to Usagi's home. Finally, they got to the door. It was locked, but Usagi showed where the extra key was hidden, and Makoto eased the door open. 

"Mom!" Usagi called out, more weakly than it should have been. Makoto gasped when an answer came from the kitchen, but Usagi said, "Mom, I don't feel all so good, I'm going up to my room. OK?" The mother answered, again staying in the kitchen, and the powerful Sailor Jupiter carried her Princess up to her bedroom. There she helped her undress before taking her to the bathroom, where Usagi bathed with a lot of help from Makoto. Then Makoto carried Usagi back to her room, dressed her in pajamas, and put her to bed. 

Then she turned to leave, but Usagi said weakly, "Mako-chan, stay and talk to me." 

Makoto turned and looked at her fallen leader. "I'd love to, Usagi, but I have to see Mina-chan. And I don't know what happened to Rei and Ami. Maybe they're hurt, or maybe they're... maybe they're dead. I have to find out." 

"Please, Makoto-chan. I'm hurt and I'm scared..." 

Makoto thought for a second. "Don't worry. I'll call Mamoru." 

"No!" Usagi's voice came as a strangled squeal. "Not now! He'll... he'll laugh at me." 

Makoto shook her head. "I thought... I thought he loved you." 

Tears were welling up in Usagi's eyes. "He loves Princess Serenity. He even loves Sailor Moon. But he laughs at dumb klutz Usagi. That's all I am, now. I am defeated. I'm through. I don't have the strength to transform, and I don't know if I ever will have it again. And if I can't transform, then I can't be the Moon Princess, and he won't be bound to me any more. It's Princess Serenity he's bound to marry, not dumb loser Usagi. Do you understand? He'll dump me. You wait! That Rei is after him, he'll go with her, she's so pretty..." Her voice trailed off in sobs. 

Makoto sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Usagi's hair. "Dear Usagi, you have to trust the man you love more than that. But I have to go. Do you love Minako-chan? And Ami-chan, and... yes, Rei... chan?" 

Usagi nodded, and Makoto finished, "Then let me go to them. They may need me. Your mother is here; if something goes wrong, call her. I'll see you tomorrow, dearest Usagi, precious friend." Makoto stood up, then bent down and kissed Usagi on the cheek, as a mother kisses a crying child to sleep. Then she left the room. Perhaps she should have been disgusted at Usagi's childish selfishness; but all her heart was filled with rage and hatred for the red-haired freak that had so broken the heart and spirit of the Sailor Moon they all loved so well. 


	5. Chapter 5

The red sports car pulled into a garage next to a garish pink restaurant. The sign in front said "Cafe Mew Mew," and Ami cringed. These enemies certainly made no effort to hide themselves. She and the blond man entered the excessively tall building through a back entrance, where they encountered the purple-clad Mew Mew. "How are things going?" asked the blond man. 

Mew Zakuro shook her head. "Not good. I got Pudding waiting the tables. I wish we had Mint there, too, but of course Mint wouldn't be doing much of anything, anyway. I wanted to keep Pudding busy because Ichigo is really bad. I think she's slipping away, we're going to lose her." Zakuro wiped a tear from her eye, and continued, "This is all my fault! I thought she was making it, that she was OK, and I told them to stop and wait for any of those Sailor jerks following us, to ambush them. We wasted so much time doing that, and when we got back to the car, Ichigo was..." Her voice trailed off, and then came back loudly, through gritted teeth. "If Ichigo dies, I'll never forgive myself!" 

"What can be done?" the blond man asked, and Zakuro muttered, "Keiichiro went to check your secret stash that he's not supposed to know about, to see if there's any Mew Aqua left. It's our last hope for Ichigo. If there's nothing there, we'll rush her to the hospital, but I doubt there'll be anything they can do for her there." 

"There's some Mew Aqua left," the blond man said. "But after that, we should take her to the hospital anyway." Zakuro nodded, and the blond man continued, "But how would you use it? Who knows how?" 

"I know how," the dark-haired woman sighed; and just then Keiichiro ran in with a small package. "That's it!" the blond man said, and all of them rushed out of the room. Ami turned to sneak away, but the door was locked behind her; and so she ran after the others. She wanted to see this. 

Two doors down the hall Ami turned and entered a small, dark room. There on a bed lay Ichigo. Her face was deathly pale, as if she had lost a lot of blood. Her breathing was shallow and irregular. It looked to Ami - who knew medicine well; her mother was a doctor, and she wanted to be a doctor herself - that the end was very near. Mew Zakuro sat on the bed and drew Ichigo's broken body against her breast. The red-haired girl moaned slightly, but that was all. Zakuro's eyes were closed, but her lips were moving; Ami realized she was praying, a useless gesture to Ami's mind. Then the dark-haired man - Keiichiro - gave Zakuro a small glass container that seemed to have a pale blue glow. Zakuro pressed the thing against Ichigo's breast, while her lips kept moving. 

Ami saw something. There seemed to be a gentle glow that surrounded the two girls; then presently the glow grew, outlining both of them. As the glow grew, it seemed to overwhelm the darkness of the room, and Ami could see clearly. What she saw astounded her. She watched the ugly wounds on Zakuro's arm and leg heal, and she watched as color returned to Ichigo's face and her breathing became regular. Finally the glow began to fade, and Mew Ichigo opened her eyes and smiled weakly. "You saved me again, Zakuro-san," she breathed; and she settled upon the older girl's breast. 

The dark-haired man spoke. "Ryou, take your car and go tell Ichigo's parents. Don't use the phone; go in person. Tell them the truth; that Ichigo was attacked by some thugs and hurt pretty bad, but she's at the hospital and is going to make it. Zakuro, we'll use your car to get her there." 

The blond man - Ryou - spoke, gesturing toward Ami. "What are we going to do with her?" 

Mew Zakuro responded. "We've got the dark-haired one in the storage room in the basement. We should take her to the hospital, too. She's not dying, but she's pretty banged up. Throw this one in the storage room. now, and we'll figure out what to do with her later." 

Ami turned to try to run, and crashed into Mew Lettuce, who had just come up; the girl wrestled Ami to the floor, and the two men seized her and dragged her to the storage room. There they sat her down on a box and picked up Rei, who had been lying on a cot. Rei still looked quite beat up. The dark-haired man tossed her over his shoulder like a sack, and they carried her away. To the hospital, they had said; Ami fervently hoped it was the local general hospital, where her mother worked. Then they left, turning the light off in the room from the outside. A minute later Ami found the door in the darkness, and tried it; of course it was locked. She sat on the floor in despair, and hours went by. 

The room was so silent, Ami realized, when she woke up. So great was her exhaustion that she had slept in spite of herself. Now she really needed the bathroom. Really, badly. There was only one door to the storage room and it was locked. She thought that she might have to pee on the floor; it was not the type of thing that perfectly-mannered Ami would even think of doing. So before she would do that, she began shouting, and pounding on the door. "Hey, I gotta use the bathroom! Now!" 

She didn't expect and answer, and was shocked when one came. A light seeped under the door, and steps came outside. "Hurry!" Ami shouted; and the voice responded, "Wait a minute!" Then, "Mew Mew Pudding... METAMORPHO-SIS!" The girl was transforming, Ami knew. Then the door opened, and light streamed in. Outside was the child Mew Mew, the one in yellow with a monkey's tail and little monkey ears. "Pudding is here!" she said. Then, "Come. I'll show you the bathroom."

Ami muttered, "Why did you transform?" 

"Pudding is not stupid," the girl said. It seemed that she always referred to herself in the third person. "Pudding needs to make sure the prisoner cannot escape. Ah... What's your name?" 

"Ami." That is all Ami wanted to say. What she really needed was a bathroom. 

They got to one soon enough, but it seemed ages to Ami. The girl in yellow entered the room with her. 

"Don't expect me to go with you standing there," Ami said; but the girl shook her head. 

"Pudding is not stupid. Who knows what tricks you might pull if I let you out of my sight? You'd be out that window in the blink of an eye." Then she crossed her arms. "Look," she said, "Pudding has five little brothers and sisters, and she's changed their diapers, and helped toilet-train them all. This won't bother Pudding at all, and it shouldn't bother you. It's not like I was a boy or something." So Ami sighed, and said: "Then turn your back." At least, the little twit did that. 

Then Pudding led her to the first room she had been in, the one where Ichigo had lain when she arrived. There was a bed there, and a blanket. Pudding pointed to a plastic pail. "That's your bathroom for tonight," she said. Then she turned to leave, but Ami stopped her. 

"One more thing,' she said. "I need a phone. I need to make a call. My friends are worried."

Pudding smiled a nasty smile. "Good. They should worry, to punish them for what they did to Ichigo." She again turned away. 

"You are so mean," shouted Ami; and again the girl turned back. "Pudding gets a phone," she said. 

A minute later she returned with a cordless phone. "What's the number?" she asked. 

"I'll make the call," Ami said; but the young girl shook her head. "You'll just call for help. Pudding is not stupid. Now, what's the number, and who am I calling?" 

"You're calling Makoto,'" Ami said; and she gave Makoto's cell number. While Pudding was dialing, she asked, "Which one are you, and which one is at the hospital?" 

"I told you, I'm Ami. Rei's at the hospital." 

Then the phone connected, and Pudding spoke: "Is this Makoto-san? Hey, this is Mew Pudding. Rei-san is at Tokyo General Hospital - no, I don't know the room. She's hurt, but should make it. Ami-san is our prisoner here, and she's OK. Bye, now." Ami could hear the other person still talking loudly, but the girl in yellow turned off the phone. She turned to Ami. "There," she said. "Sleep, now." Then without another word she bounced out the door. She left the light on; this room had the switch on the inside. That was better than the ugly darkness, but the door was still locked, and Ami had no freedom. 


	6. Chapter 6

Makoto hesitated outside the emergency entrance to the hospital. It had to be midnight, by now, and she had no officially acceptable reason to be entering at that hour. But she had to see how Rei was. She took a deep breath and pulled the door open. At least, they would not know that she had been in the fight; what damage occurred to her had been to Sailor Jupiter's outfit, not to the regular clothes she wore as Makoto. And her face was quite unmarked. She quietly walked up to the desk, where a harried, tired nurse or aide was trying to keep up with far too many things. The nurse looked up but said nothing. 

"Hino Rei. Is she here?" Makoto asked. 

"And you are...?" the tired woman answered. 

Makoto looked down. "Kino Makoto. Just a friend. I heard she might have been brought in here." 

The woman looked at the clock. "It's too late to see her now. Come back tomorrow, during visiting hours." The she turned back to whatever paperwork she was doing. 

So Rei was here, Makoto thought. But where? She couldn't just run down the hall and search every room in the emergency ward. As she wondered what to do, she saw a door open down the hall, and a slender, dark-haired woman stepped out. Suddenly Makoto realized it was one of those accursed Mew Mews! The older one, the tall one. Mew Zakuro, the purple Mew Mew. 

Makoto wanted to attack her right there. She could take her by surprise; she wouldn't need even to transform. Come up behind her, hands around the throat... Makoto was strong. She could take revenge on that bitch for the pain her whip had caused, for what she had done to all of them. Makoto was very strong; she could snap the neck, and even here in the hospital there would be nothing they could do for her... 

But Makoto was no murderer. There were times she cursed herself for her weakness, and this was one of them. But she would not kill that way. Still, she was brave enough to approach her enemy; and she had to find where Rei was. So she walked, trembling slightly, up the hall. The tired woman at the desk did not even notice. 

But the Mew noticed. She stopped moving and stood facing Makoto, ever so light on her feet, but looking like a wolf prepared to strike. Her dark sapphire eyes stared into Makoto's green ones. Makoto was suddenly frightened; she wanted to run, but she had to find Rei... She stopped just a few feet from her enemy. 

She remembered the name again. "Mew Zakuro." 

The woman stared into Makoto's eyes, seemingly right through them. The she spoke: "Sailor... Jupiter. The tall one." She would not take her eyes off Makoto for even a second. 

Makoto wanted to run more than ever. But she was Sailor Senshi. She took a deep breath, and spoke. "Do you know where Rei is?" 

The woman was silent for several seconds before speaking in a low, hard voice. "Why should I tell you? You're my enemy." 

Makoto ignored the challenge in her enemy's words. "I think she's in there," she said, pointing to the door where Zakuro had just emerged. 

"She's not in there." The words were very hard. Her eyes again searched Makoto's. Then she pointed. "There, second door on the right." 

So, thought Makoto. Why had she been in a different room? Someone else was in there - it had to be one of the Mew Mews. The Sailor Senshi had done better in the battle than she had thought; one of the Mews was here in the hospital. And one of them was dead. She bit her lip. Then she turned away, and took a step toward the second door on the right. But the Mew seized her arm. 

"Jupiter-san." Makoto was surprised to hear the honorific, and she turned back to the woman she so hated. Once again, the woman's eyes searched her soul. Then Zakuro spoke, just one word: "Why...?" 

Makoto bit her lip again. She had asked herself the same question all evening. It was the question she wanted to ask Rei, the question she should have asked Usagi but was too worried and afraid to ask. But she returned the gaze of the dark-eyed woman and spoke simply. "I don't know. I don't know what started it, or who started it. They were fighting when I got there. I saw Usagi go down, and then, as we ran up, I saw Venus and Mars take down your Ichigo. I tried to stop it, but it was too late. They said your girl was already dead. Then before we could do anything, you girls attacked, and we fought back." 

The dark-eyed woman stared even longer into Makoto's soul, and then lowered her eyes. "I don't know, either," she said. "But at least you did not lie to me." She turned away and went back through the door where she had emerged. Yes, thought Makoto, one of theirs is in that room, and this one, the one with the whip, was guarding her. 

But Makoto turned from that room, and quickly slipped through the second door on the right. The lights here were subdued, but she could see that Rei lay in the bed. She was hooked up to two IV's and some machine was monitoring her vital signs. She had color in her face, though; at least Makoto thought she could see color, in the dim light. She stood next to the bed for a minute or two before she spoke. "Rei-chan?" 

The girl opened her eyes. It took her a while to realize what was happening, but then she recognized her friend, and she smiled weakly. "Mako... chan." 

"You gonna make it?" Makoto asked. 

Rei nodded and her smile grew broader. "I hope to get out tomorrow, already," she said. "How are the others?" 

Makoto shook her head. "Minako and Usagi were hurt pretty bad. Minako's at my place. I got Usagi home, put her to bed. She's really weak but I don't think she's taken too much physical damage. But... I haven't seen Ami. I heard she was captured by those damned Mew Mews." 

Rei's eyes closed, and she winced, perhaps from the pain of a very bad memory. "Ami got captured along with me. They ambushed me in the road, the whole bunch of them, and shot me down pretty good. Ami came up after me, and used her Bubble Spray to hide herself. She got to me and was carrying me out, but they caught her when she got out of the Bubble Spray. No spells - they just tackled us. I was too hurt to fight, and Ami's such a wuss. They took us back to their hideout, and locked me in a room. Then two guys took me to the hospital." 

Makoto smiled. Rei would be all right. Then Rei continued, "You can go, really, It's late and you took some licks today, too. I need sleep. Tell the others I'm OK..." Her voice trailed off. 

"Dearest Rei-chan," Makoto said; and she bent down and kissed Rei's cheek, just as she had kissed Usagi, as a mother kisses the pain away for a hurting child. She wanted to tell Rei that there were Mew Mews about, and one of them was in a room across the hall, two doors down. But no; if she told her, Rei, with that temper she had, just might try to transform and go after whoever it was. There would be time for that later. Makoto turned and reached for the door. 

Then she stopped. In her mind's eye she saw a bunch of Mews outside, all transformed and lined up, ready to destroy her when she emerged. So she just opened the door the tiniest crack... the hall was empty. She was ready to open the door and leave when she saw the door across the hall open. The dark Mew came out, looked both ways, and headed down the hall. Was she leaving? Where was she going? Makoto watched as she disappeared into a room down on the end of the hall. Of course; the ladies' room. 

Makoto knew her chance. She slipped through the door and headed across the hall, two doors down. A quick look both ways showed no one watching. Her right hand took the door handle, and her left hand wrapped tightly around her pendant. If they were waiting in there, she would go down fighting. 

But the room was empty, except for the girl in the bed. She silently crossed the room. The girl slept quietly, breathing gently. Makoto turned the light up a bit and gasped. It was the one she thought was dead, Mew Ichigo. And she didn't look all that badly hurt. The face that had been mangled looked quite unmarked, and there was no evidence that the broken leg had a cast. What kind of creature was this? Makoto reached down and brushed the hair away from her face. 

The girl's eyes opened. "Who are you?" she asked; and Makoto answered, simply: "Kino Makoto." Then she added, "Sailor Jupiter." 

The girl's eyes opened wide, and searched the room. She was looking for her bodyguard, but the dark one was not there. For a second Jupiter thought to play with the girl's fears, to tell some tale of disposing of the hated Mew Zakuro and her evil whip. But that kind of cruelty was not in her. So Makoto just smiled and said, "Zakuro-san went to the bathroom." The girl was becoming more and more agitated; not good, Makoto thought. She reached down again and stroked the hair. "We thought you were dead," she said. 

"I almost was." Ichigo closed her eyes, and her face was pained. "Zakuro-san saved me." 

So, Makoto thought. They have some kind of healing magic. This was not good. It would give them a big advantage in the next battle, as none of the Sailor Senshi could heal, except for Sailor Neptune, of the outer planets; and they had seen none of those girls since the fall of Galaxia.. 

The girl opened her eyes and spoke again. "Are you going to kill me?" 

Something snapped in Makoto's heart, and she shook her head gently. "I am no murderer, whatever you think of me, or of us." She looked around the room again. "You are Mew Ichigo, right?" The girl nodded, and Makoto continued, "I am so happy you did not die." She looked down at her enemy. There was no hatred left in her heart, now. A third time she stroked the girl's hair. "Don't be afraid. Sleep now. Zakuro-san is coming, and I will not hurt you." The girl closed her eyes, and Makoto bent over one more time, and kissed the girl on the cheek, as a mother kisses the night-fears away from a frightened child. Then she turned to go... 

Mew Zakuro stood in the door. She had transformed. The wolf's ears and tail were clear to see, and the cross-thing was in her hand. Makoto's heart caught in her throat. She had no time to transform, and she thought she was looking at her own death. 

But the dark Mew spoke. "Why? You took your life into your hands when you came in here, and if you had not touched her with such kindness, I would have killed you where you stood." 

Makoto walked right up to her enemy. Zakuro was tall, but Makoto was taller. And stronger. She sighed. "I came in because I am a fool. And because I wanted to see who was in here, whom you were guarding. I thought that one was dead, but she said you had healed her. I am so happy that she lives, that we are not murderers." 

Mew Zakuro stared again into Makoto's eyes. "I will never forgive you for what you did to Ichigo." 

"But not here, not now, Mew Zakuro." Makoto's voice was a whisper. "You should let me go, now. This is not the time or place to fight, and I did not harm your friend." Zakuro did not move from the doorway. Makoto spoke again. "I want your word that you will not harm Rei-chan while she's here, and you will protect her from any of the other Mew Mews that might have other ideas." 

"I will not fight my own people," Zakuro responded. 

"But they will do as you say," said Makoto. "You lead, they follow." 

Zakuro shook her head. "Our leader is Ichigo-san." 

A small smile creased Jupiter's face. "Then she must be one unbelievable girl, if even you follow her. Now let me go. It's very late, and I have one more hurt friend to attend to." 

Zakuro did not smile, but she nodded. "Your friend will not be harmed while she is here." Then she stepped aside, and Makoto said, "And we will not hurt your Mew Ichigo while she is here, either." Then she left the room. Mew Zakuro stared long after her as she left. Then she closed the door. 


	7. Chapter 7

It was quite early the next morning when Mew Lettuce tried the door to Cafe Mew Mew. It was unlocked, although it was much too early to open up, and the sign out front said, "Closed." But Lettuce was sure the others would be here. After the fight yesterday, they all would want to know what was happening. And they would want support from each other. Lettuce was sure that Ichigo still lived, or they would have called her. But she did not know if her friend was better or worse, if she was near death or on the mend. She had wanted to see her the night before, of course, but her parents were so strict with her and they would not let her out late. And besides, she could not tell them about the Mew Mews. But today, she would find out. 

Keiichiro met her at the door. He smiled. He always had that smile, it seemed, but Lettuce took it as a good sign. Even Keiichiro would not smile if things were bad with Ichigo. Lettuce asked him, "How is Ichigo?" 

He smiled again. "She's doing fine. Zakuro-san's healing is powerful. Zakuro stayed with her last night, just in case. Ryou's with her now..." 

Those last words hit Lettuce like a dagger through the heart. Ichigo and Ryou, alone, and a bed... She hated herself for her jealousy, for she dearly loved her friend Ichigo; but the fire that burned within her for Ryou could not be denied. It consumed her, twisted her, tortured her. She so wanted to confess her love to him, but she knew he would refuse it. She knew his heart belonged to Ichigo, just as everyone else's seemed to. 

The dark-haired man dropped his eyes and shook his head, and turned away. Like most men, he had no clue as to how to understand the heart of a teen-aged girl, especially a heart that was broken. But as he walked away from Lettuce, Zakuro approached her. 

The tall Mew looked down on Lettuce, who refused her gaze. So Zakuro touched Lettuce's cheek and raised her head until their eyes met. "Lettuce, you must trust Ichigo more than that. You think that no woman could resist Ryou. But Ichigo's heart belongs only to Aoyama-kun, as she always calls him. She would never touch Ryou; and anyway, I called Masaya, and he's going to the hospital as soon as he can, so they won't be alone. And I'm sure that Ichigo's parents are back there by this hour, too." 

Tears began streaming from Lettuce's eyes, but any words she wanted to say caught in her throat. So Zakuro continued, "Lettuce, you are so humble, you will never realize that you are the best of us all. Ichigo may have the greatest heart, but yours is the purest. If Ryou does not return your love, it might be that he knows that he is not worthy of it." 

"Zakuro-san!" Lettuce whispered, and she buried her face on Zakuro's shoulder, and sobbed uncontrollably. The older girl looked off into the distance. On the one hand, they were so powerful - magical girls, defenders of the world. On the other, they were all so vulnerable, such children. Lettuce, with her never-fulfilled love. Mint, with her never-fulfilled desire. Ichigo, with her simple mind and foolish bravery, always a disaster waiting to happen. Pudding, truly a child in all her innocence - what would happen to her, when she had to confront evil in herself, or her friends...? And Zakuro herself, who behind a facade of maturity and concern for others, hid the burning desire to be the selfish, self-centered, self-important idol. How she wished she could be independent again; how much she could enjoy life! But she had found in these foolish children the family she had never really had, and she could not leave them. She was now big sister to all of them. Oh, how love bound her heart. And how she hated that! 

"Lettuce-chan, we're going to see Ichigo. We won't be opening the cafe today. Dry your tears, and get out to the car in back. There's not room for all of us, but we'll fit you in, somehow." Zakuro hugged the sobbing Lettuce tightly, and then turned away. Her eyes were wet with tears, too.

On their way to the car in the back, Zakuro stopped and unlocked the door to the store room. Ami was awake, sitting on the edge of the bed. Zakuro motioned for her to come over, and the sailor-girl did, with much fear and trembling. And Lettuce understood: this girl knows that she is going to suffer pain now, and maybe die. 

But Zakuro spoke: "We have no reason to keep you here, and besides, that's kidnapping. I'm sure you want to see your friends, and your family must be worried. Be sure to see your parents first, then you can go see your friends." 

But Ami shook her head. "I want my pendant, and Rei's." 

Zakuro shook her head in return. "Why? So you can kill us? Those pendants are our advantage in this war. When we hold them, we have the advantage on you, five to three, because two of you can't transform. No, Sailor Senshi, we will keep those pendants, until this war is over. That is the price you pay for defeat." 

Fire blazed wildly in Ami's eyes, and her small hands clenched into fists; but Lettuce stepped between the other two girls. "Come," she said to her enemy. "There's a shower room upstairs. Take a shower, get cleaned up, and go home. You Mom is probably worried sick by now." 

"My Mom doesn't even know I'm missing," Ami muttered. But she followed Lettuce from the room. 

Zakuro called after them: "Lettuce, we'll be going ahead. Call yourself a taxi if the bus doesn't come soon enough, and come as soon as you can." Then she left the room and closed the door behind her. Again, she shook her head. Lettuce was, in so many ways, the best of them, still stopping fights, even in the middle of a war to the death. She wondered if Ami would take advantage of Lettuce's goodness and attack her, maybe hurt her or even kill her. But no; she trusted Lettuce. She wouldn't have trusted any of the others, but she trusted Lettuce. That girl was, in so many ways, the best of them. 


	8. Chapter 8

Ami was so tired. She had not slept well the night before, when she was a prisoner of the Mews. And she had fought, and been captured, and beaten. She wanted her own bed, to sleep for a whole day and more. But she really didn't want to face her mother. Her mother had been on night call at the hospital; she would probably be home now, and would nag her for not being at cram school. At least it was vacation, so she wouldn't get nagged for not being at regular school. That was worse. 

She eased the door open, hoping that her mother was sleeping and would not awaken. But she was there, standing, watching the door. She was not happy, and Ami was not happy to see her. She did not even greet her mother as she tried to walk by her. 

But her mother spoke, quite harshly: "Not even a greeting from my only daughter?" 

Ami looked at her and spoke in a very tired voice: "Hello, Mama-sama." It was a silly greeting, one Ami had used as a young child. Maybe it would make her mother smile... But it did not. 

"Ami, where were you? I got home late, after five o'clock this morning. You weren't here. You were gone all night. Where were you?" her mother demanded. 

Ami looked her right in the eyes. "I was held prisoner, in a dungeon, by a bunch of half-animal witches." 

Her mother raised her hand. "Daughter, I have never struck you, even once, in all of your life. If you mock me with another lie like that, I will strike you." 

Ami still looked into her mother's eyes. "I do not lie to you, mother-san." 

Ami's mother slapped her, full across the face. "Don't you lie to me! Do not treat your mother with such disrespect! Where were you? You spent the night with some boy, I suppose! You little slut! Or maybe you were in jail? Or passed-out drunk somewhere? What has happened to you? I was so proud of you, the best grades, the best behavior, the best everything! And now look at you! Staying out all night whoring around, and lying to my face!" 

Anger burned in Ami's eyes. "Mother, you are a doctor. You could examine me and find out that I am still... intact." 

Her mother slapped her face again, but Ami still spoke in her anger: "You could run a blood test, and find that there is no alcohol in me, or any other chemicals." 

Yet another slap. 

"And you could check the police records, and find that I was not in jail." 

Again her mother struck at Ami, but this time Ami seized her wrist and would not let her strike. "Don't hit me again, mother. I've been hurt too much this last day, and I will start hitting back. Do you want a fist fight with your daughter? I could tell you all I've been through in this last day - in these last three years, for that matter - and you would not believe a word of it! I'll tell you, soon I will show you what this is about, but I can't now! You've always trusted me! Trust me this time!" 

Her mother shook her head. "You cannot keep such secrets from me, my daughter! I gave you life! I have raised you and clothed you and fed you and protected you and always given you the best of everything, and you owe me better than this!" 

Ami shook her head in return. "Mother, if I told you, you would not believe me, and you would hit me again, and we would fight. No, mother. Either trust me or reject me, throw me out if you must. Soon I will show you the truth, I promise. But now, let me sleep..." 

Her mother seized her arm. "I'm not done yet! There is more. Last night, I was called to the emergency ward. Two girls were brought in, girls about your age. One was a red-haired girl with strange, violet-gray eyes. She had a strange name, and strange injuries. It was as if she had been severely injured, but long ago. She had numerous injuries, both internal and external. But it was as if they had all been healing for a month or more. Still, she was so weak she could not stand. In all my years, I have never seen anything like it." 

Ami shrugged. "And how does that affect me?"

"The second girl," Ami's mother went on, "was brought in with her, by the same two young men. She was also injured in ways I have never seen. Her skin was flayed and burned, as if she had been whipped with a burning whip. The closest thing I have ever seen to those injuries is taser burns, but the pattern of these was all wrong for taser burns. She also had multiple bruises, and some internal injuries, as if she had been severely knocked around. But she would say nothing, so we treated her injuries and put her to bed. I suppose you would say that such a thing would not affect you, either, but her name was... Hino Rei. Your friend, Ami. Your friend was beaten in some horrible way I cannot fathom, and I am sure you know about it, and that is why you are keeping secrets from me." 

Ami looked into her mother's eyes. "Is Rei-chan all right? Will she be OK?" 

The older woman nodded. "I think so, my daughter." 

Ami half-smiled, for the first time. "Good. Mother, I am tired, but I am going to the hospital to see Rei. If you do not cast me from the family or from this home, I promise you that tomorrow I will show you what is going on. If I just told you, you would not believe a word of it." 

Her mother tried to protest, but Ami turned away and walked out of the door. 


	9. Chapter 9

Ami left the desk and hurried down the hall. Rei was still in the emergency wing of the hospital, room 19B. Ami was tired but she was worried about Rei. She wondered about the wounds left by that whip, the Zakuro Spear. She hated that whip, and she hated the woman that wielded it. She feared that beautiful Rei would be left permanently scarred. Oh, if she only had her pendant... She turned the corner and entered the corridor to room 19B. 

The corridor was not empty. Standing there, near room 19B, were a group of young women, talking quietly. Ami gasped; it was the Mew Mews. She was sure they had attacked Rei, dear Rei. She ran at them. They had not transformed; she was sure that they would not transform here, with dozens of witnesses. They heard her coming, and they turned to meet her. She threw herself into them, but they seized her by her arms. She tried to kick at them, but she could not reach them. "What have you done to Rei?" she half-shouted. 

The hated Mew Zakuro stood before her. Behind her that accursed Mew Lettuce held her, pinning her arms. Zakuro spoke: "Your friend is safe in her room." 

Ami's eyes were wild. "Then why are you here?" She was trying not to make a scene in the hospital hallway, but Rei was in danger! 

Mew Zakuro's eyes were so hard, and her voice was as hard as her eyes. "You should know our reasons for being here, Sailor Mercury. If you want to see your friend, she's in there." The dark-haired woman pointed to Room 19B. 

Ami tried to catch her breath. Apparently they hadn't hurt Rei, and they weren't going to take her down, here. "Then let me go," she said, finally softly. 

Mew Zakuro backed off, but now Mew Mint came and stood before her. "What's wrong, girl?" she sneered. "Tummy a little sore?" 

Ami strained against the hands holding her, but Mew Lettuce was just too strong for her. Once again, she calmed herself. "We will meet again, bitch," she said in a low, ugly voice. "At a time when you don't have this thug to hold me, just you and me, and we'll settle it between us." 

Mew Mint cocked her arm to punch her middle as she had the day before, but Mew Zakuro grabbed the arm. "Not now, _baka!_ They'll throw us all out of here." Then the strong hands released Ami, and, with eyes still blazing, she turned away. She wanted so badly to slug that bitch Mint in the belly while someone held _her_. But even more she wanted to see Rei, and if she hit her enemy now, she would be thrown out, and maybe arrested. And that was one thing she did not want to explain to her mother. She opened the door and entered Room 19B. 

Rei was out of the bed, sitting in a reclining chair, covered with a blanket. On two other chairs were Makoto and Minako. Minako was obviously still hurting from the damage she had taken yesterday. But at least her beautiful face seemed unmarked. 

"Rei-chan! Minako-chan! How are you!" Ami said. She rushed first to Minako, who grunted. "Not good. But I'll live." She smiled, and Ami hugged her - lightly; she didn't want to cause her friend any more pain. 

Then she turned to Rei, who said, "I see that they let you out. You look pretty messed up, though, for Perfect Ami." 

Yes, after the scuffle outside, Ami was quite disheveled. "I had a little difficulty getting in here. Those stinking Mew Mews are right outside the door to this room." She did not tell her friends that it was she who had attacked the Mews, and not the other way around. 

"They're here?" Rei gasped. "Then they're going to attack!" 

Makoto shook her head. "They're here because their friend is in the room across the hall, two doors down. And... they won't attack us here." 

"Their friend? Who?" Rei demanded. 

"Who?" Makoto responded. "Their friend, Ichigo. The one we thought was dead." She lowered her eyes and stared at the floor. "At least, we haven't committed murder." 

"That bitch is right across the hall, and you didn't tell me?" Rei snapped angrily at Makoto. 

Makoto looked up again. "I was afraid that if I told you, you might go over there and try something. And she was guarded, and I didn't want to see you hurt any more. That temper of yours has gotten you in enough trouble already." 

Rei glared at Makoto, gritting her teeth. "And why are you so sure they won't attack?" 

"Because I got their leader to promise that they would not attack you here. And I promised we wouldn't attack their girl," Makoto answered. 

_"Baka!_ And you believed them?" sneered Minako. 

"Mew Zakuro may be our enemy, but she did not lie to me," Makoto said. 

Anger burned in Minako's eyes. "You really are a traitor, you fat cow," she muttered. 

Finally anger touched Makoto's voice. "Like I was a traitor yesterday, when I protected you from that damned whip with my own body?" 

Ami could see that her two friends would soon come to blows. Defeat did that, she knew; so she spoke, changing the subject. "Makoto, how do you know it's that freak Ichigo who's across the hall?" 

Makoto looked at Ami, searching her soul. :"I sneaked in there last night, when Mew Zakuro slipped out to go to the ladies' room. I know what you're thinking, that there's no way that that girl lived after being smashed like that. Well, they have some kind of healing magic..." 

"I have seen it," Ami said. "The tall one, Mew Zakuro, does it. It uses something they call Mew Aqua, something they have very little of, I may add."

"That healing gives them a big advantage over us," Makoto said. 

Rei sneered. "It wouldn't have given them any advantage, if you had finished her off last night, when you had the chance, if you had any courage at all. You're a weakling, a coward, and a traitor against us." 

"I may be all of those, but I am not a murderer, to kill a helpless girl in her bed." Makoto got up to leave. "I can see where I'm not wanted, who my real friends really are, and they're not here." There was terrible heat in her voice, and Ami realized that the insults had gone too far and that the powerful Makoto was ready to attack them. Well, let her go, Ami thought. The Sailor Senshi are beaten anyway. Finished. She would just take care of her hurt friends. 

Makoto almost slammed the door as she left the room. Then she paused and took a deep breath. The hall was empty, except for a nurse bustling through and a cleaning lady down near the end. She was being a fool but she didn't care. She crossed the hall and entered the room, two doors down. 

The room was crowded. The hated Ichigo lay in the bed. She looked far better than she had the night before, and she was almost smiling. Around her bed were a man and woman just into middle age, whom Makoto assumed to be the girl's parents; a boy about her age, probably the boyfriend; and the other four Mew Mews. They all looked up when Makoto entered: the parents and boyfriend with questions in their eyes, the Mews with anger and hatred. 

She ignored the Mews and walked up to the bed. They could not attack her with the parents and boyfriend present. Makoto smiled and looked down on the girl in the bed, who returned her gaze. The girl's eyes were a strange violet-gray in color. 

"Who are you?" the mother asked. 

Makoto looked at her. "Kino Makoto," she said. She bowed. "I was just worrying about how she was doing. I was seeing the girl across the hall." The others did not notice, but Mew Zakuro did: she had said, "the girl" and not "my friend." 

"Are you Ichigo-chan's friend?" the boyfriend asked. 

Makoto shook her head. "No, not her friend. But her health concerns me and my... those people I hang with." 

Mew Lettuce squirmed and started approaching her. A quick glance told Makoto that the green-haired girl was really scared that Makoto would hurt Ichigo. 

The girl in the bed must have seen it, too, so she said, "Makoto-san, were you here last night, late?" Makoto nodded, and the red-haired girl asked, "Did you really kiss my cheek when you left?" 

Makoto nodded again, and the girl asked, "Why?" 

Makoto looked the girl full in they eyes, her clear green eyes staring into the violet-gray ones of her enemy. "Because you needed it," she sighed. "And I needed it more." 

Makoto turned to go, but the father asked, "Did you have anything to do with what happened to Ichigo?" 

Makoto stopped but did not look at him. It was Mew Pudding who piped up: "You're damned right, she did!" Makoto clenched her fists, and ran from the room. 

"Get your cell phone out," the father said to his wife. "Call the police!" 

"No!" Ichigo said. They stopped and looked at her. "All she did to me was stroke my hair, and kiss my cheek." 

"And that is true." Mew Zakuro said. 

The parents turned to Ichigo, who spoke quietly. "When I get home, I promise, I'll explain it all." Beside her bed Masaya clutched her hand tightly, bowed his head, and wept, the tears flowing down his cheeks. 


	10. Chapter 10

Makoto ran down the road. She thought she knew what heartbreak was, when she had broken up with her senior boyfriend, years ago. But this was a million times worse. These were the girls she had fought with, saved the world with, even died with, once. These girls were closer than family. And now they hated her! Her friends were gone, and the Sailor Senshi were finished. They had been defeated, and now they were turning on each other. She had seen how the Mew Mews had stood together, even when they bickered with each other, while her friends - now her former friends - had turned on her. She knew that there was only one thing that could save the Sailor Senshi. There was one that had been the glue that held them together, one that they had all loved like a sister, and more than a sister. Usagi. She had to get to Usagi. Block after block she ran, without stopping, gasping for air but still running. Usagi's house was far away. 

Yet she got there, her chest heaving, the sweat streaming down her face and soaking through her shirt. She was a sodden mess but she didn't care. She rang the doorbell, and again, and again, but there was no answer. "Usagi," she shouted. Was something wrong? Was Usagi in the hospital now, or ... or dead? Where was her mother? She pounded on the door with all of her great strength. 

It opened, and there was Usagi, still in her pajamas. "Mako-chan!" she said, and Makoto staggered through the door and threw her arms around the last friend she had in the world. "Usagi... chan!" she gasped; and the tears rolled down her cheeks. 

Usagi held her for a minute or more. At least, today she had the strength to stand; yesterday, she could not have done so. Makoto was so strong that even when she shook from exhaustion and grief, Usagi could hardly hold her. 

Yet finally, Usagi pushed the sobbing girl away, and said, "What happened, Mako-chan? Have they attacked again?" 

Makoto stared into Usagi's eyes. "No, my Princess." Usagi started. They never called her that. Makoto continued, "Usagi, the Sailor Senshi are falling apart. Rei-san and Minako-san hate me, and we almost had a fist fight, and they called me a traitor. They want me dead. They call me a traitor because I stopped Minako from murdering that girl yesterday, and because I didn't murder her myself last night." 

Usagi stopped her. "You mean, she isn't dead?" 

Makoto shook her head. "They have some kind of healing magic, they saved her. She's in the hospital, across the hall from Rei-san." 

"Rei's in the hospital? Why didn't you tell me?" Usagi demanded. 

"I didn't know myself until last night. I went to see her, and she was going to make it. I went back this morning, and brought Minako there, and then Ami showed up, too.. Well, Minako and Rei called me a traitor and a coward. We almost fought. I left. The Sailor Senshi are falling apart, and there's only one that can save us, bring us back together." She looked pleadingly into Usagi's clear blue eyes. 

Usagi dropped her eyes and turned away. "I can't. I'm not Sailor Moon any more, I'm not Princess Serenity. I can't transform any more. I'm just plain old dumb useless Usagi." 

Makoto seized Usagi by the shoulders, turned her around, and stared into her eyes. "We don't need Sailor Moon, or Princess Serenity. We need the plain old dumb useless Usagi that we all love. You have to save us. Maybe you can't transform. Well, Ami and Rei lost their pendants when they were captured, so they can't transform, either. Minako can, but she's still hurting badly from the fight yesterday. And they'll have nothing to do with me. Usagi, you have to go to them. This whole thing is falling apart." 

Something changed in Usagi's eyes, and she stared deeply into Makoto's. Makoto had seen this before; it happened when Usagi finally made up her mind. And nothing could stop her, now. She spoke: "Makoto, you're a mess. Go upstairs and take a bath. I'll get you something to wear that isn't soaked and doesn't smell like a locker room."

"Your clothes are too small for me," the tall girl said; but Usagi smiled. "Between my Mom's stuff and mine, I'll find you something. You can't go visit the hospital looking like that." 

And so they did find her something: a stretchy tank-top of Usagi's that did its best to cover Makoto's more than ample chest, but mostly failed; and a short skirt of her mother's that settled quite well on Makoto's curvy hips but pulled a little too tightly over her butt. Usagi shook her head. If Makoto had wanted to, she could put all of them to shame in the looks department, even Minako and Rei. But she was less vain than any of them, except maybe Ami. Well, any guys who saw Makoto in the outfit she was wearing would get a treat. There was a train station three blocks away, and the trains left on the hour; they could take the train to the hospital. They did not have to run all the way, 


	11. Chapter 11

Makoto led the way down the hospital corridors. Usagi followed, quite lost in the huge building. But Makoto had been there before, and knew where she was going. She led her Princess down a long flight of stairs, and turned the corner to the right. She knew where she was, now: the long corridor in the emergency wing. She could see the door to Room 19B, where Rei was, and most likely the others. But the corridor was not empty. There were Mews there. 

Usagi grabbed Makoto's shoulder. "Mako-chan, Are those..."

"Mew Mews? Yes, they are. But they won't hurt us, not here. They can't transform in front of all the witnesses here, and they've promised not to hurt Rei-san." Makoto said, still moving forward. Usagi followed. just keeping up, wondering what to do if their enemies attacked. She couldn't transform, and there were three Mews: three against two. But then, the one with her was Makoto, and Usagi thought that that would get her through any fight that did not involve magic. So she kept hurrying behind her friend. 

They got to the door. The tall, dark Mew, Zakuro, spoke to Makoto. "She's recovered pretty well, for how she looked yesterday." 

Makoto stopped right in front of her enemy. "It's part of being Sailor Senshi. Let us through." 

Zakuro's eyes were even more dark than usual. "And it's part of not being pounded to pieces after you're already down." 

Makoto would not back down. The other girl was acting tough, but she knew there would be no fight here. "Zakuro-san, let us through. We're just here to see Rei." 

Zakuro nodded, and the Mews stepped aside, opening the path to door 19B. At the door, Usagi took the lead. "Stay here, now," she whispered. "I'll go in alone, at first. I want to see what they say about you. Don't let them see you when I open the door." 

Makoto was stunned. This did not seem like the airheaded blonde girl who always seemed half-lost; but she stepped aside, and Usagi opened the door and went in. 

Ami looked up when the door opened, and smiled broadly when she saw Usagi. "Usagi-chan!" she almost shouted. But Rei and Minako said nothing. 

Usagi walked over to Rei, who had been put back into the bed. She smiled softly, but Rei did not return the smile. So Usagi spoke, uncomfortably: "How is it going? They going to let you out?" 

Rei stared into Usagi's eyes, and spoke: "I'm going to make it - no thanks to you, _loser_." She stressed that last word, and drew it out. Ami gasped; but Minako said nothing. Usagi kept looking at her, so Rei continued, "this is all your fault! If you weren't such a loser, this never would have happened! You were a _baka_ to start the fight, and you got your butt kicked, and Minako and I had to save you. And then that fat oaf Makoto interrupted everything, and got us taken by surprise. I'm lucky to be alive, no thanks to you." Usagi turned away. Ami was sure she would start bawling, like she always did. 

But Usagi just turned to Minako. "And you, Dear Sailor V, are you healing, too?" Minako said not a word, but stared with hatred into Usagi's eyes, blue into blue. Usagi backed off from the bed. This time, Ami was sure, she would break down; but she did not. 

"And how is Makoto-chan? Is she hurt, too?" Usagi asked. 

Minako stood and walked over until she stood full in Usagi's face. "That traitorous coward is just fine, thank you, because she didn't have the guts to fight!" 

"LIAR!" Ami all but screamed. "She fought, and at the end, she took the whiplashes that were meant for you, or you'd be lying in a hospital bed, too! What the hell is the matter with you two? You blame Makoto, you blame Usagi for our defeat! They both fought. We just got beaten! Yes, it hurts. So what? We've been hurt before. We've always come back. Usagi always has won for us in the end, even against Galaxia. She was supposed to be the greatest Sailor Senshi ever, better than all the rest put together, but Usagi conquered her! Or don't you remember..."

Usagi cut her off. "Ami, enough." She stood looking into Minako's eyes. "I am your Princess! Show me the respect I deserve! And show Makoto-san the respect she deserves! She's our friend, from the very beginning! What has gotten into you and Rei?" 

Minako pushed Usagi away, roughly. "Stop lecturing me, you big turd. You can't transform any more. You're not Sailor Moon, you're not Princess Serenity, you're just Usagi. Usagi the crybaby, Usagi the _baka!_ You're not my Princess, you're not Sailor Senshi, you're just about the dumbest and most useless girl I ever met in all my life. And you're ugly, too! Mamoru will be so glad to be rid of your ugly face, your flat chest, and your fat butt..." 

"Minako, shut up!" Ami barked; but Minako sneered at her. "You gonna stop me, you little wuss?" 

Ami rose. She was no fighter, but something had to be done about Minako's cruelty. But Usagi stopped her. "Sit, Ami-chan!" 

Usagi drew out her pendant. "So! You say I can't transform, and so now I'm useless?" She held the pendant up. "Moon Crystal Power, MAKE-UP!" she chanted, and she rose into the air and began spinning, and her clothes transformed as she did. She was become again Sailor Moon! But this was not the Sailor Moon they were used to. Her eyes blazed with anger, and she took Minako by the front of her shirt. "So, you think that I'm useless and worthless, do you? Do you want to step outside, and see how useless I am?" 

Ami could not endure this. "No, Usagi, we're friends! We're comrades! We're Sailor Senshi!" She forced herself between the two violently angry blondes. 

It was not a healthy position for Ami to place herself. Both of the angry girls grabbed her, to throw her aside, but Rei, from her bed, stopped them. "You _bakas!_ Look at the door!" 

They looked. The door to the room stood open, and all of the Mew Mews were crowding into it, to watch the action. And action there would have been; but now they stopped. Rei frowned. It was just like Usagi to be so foolish, to transform here in a public hospital, and to fight here; but she expected better from Minako. 

Then powerful Makoto pushed the Mews aside and stalked into the room. Her eyes gaped wide when she saw Usagi transformed, and she fell to her knee before her. "My Princess..." she mumbled. 

Even Usagi was embarrassed by that, and she quickly reached out and raised Makoto up. Then Makoto turned and faced Minako, and her green eyes blazed. "You blonde _baka,_ if you so much as touch Sailor Moon, I will smash you so hard that you will never..." 

But Sailor Moon reached out, took Makoto's shoulder, and stopped her. "No, my dear friend," she said, quietly but firmly. "This is my fight." And then she turned to Minako. Blue eyes stared into blue, and she spoke in a tone far harder than any they had heard come from Usagi's lips: "When you feel up to it, you call me. I will meet you anywhere, any time, to talk this out, or to settle it upon the field of honor. Now, leave." 

But Minako did not leave. "I take no commands from you, so-called princess. This is not your room, nor your kingdom." And she turned to Rei in her bed. "Rei-chan, this is your room. Should I leave?" 

Rei was silent for several seconds, and then she spoke: "Usagi... leave." 

The Mew Mews looked on as Makoto turned toward Rei with such anger blazing in her green eyes that they thought she would tear her to pieces right there. But at the same time a look came over Usagi's face, a look of such horrible pain that one would think that a sword had just been driven full through her heart. "Rei... chan...?" she mumbled; and she turned away. Rei could not see her face, but the Mews all watched as the tears began streaming from the great blue eyes of Sailor Moon. Suddenly Usagi transformed back, and she was powerful Sailor Moon no longer: just dumb, useless crybaby Usagi, shaking and gasping as the tears poured down. The Mew Mews stood aside as she staggered out of the room. 

Then Makoto charged through after her. She saw Usagi slumped against the wall, sobbing uncontrollably. She ran to her friend, turned her from the wall, and gathered her tightly in her arms against her bosom, as a mother would hold her child. And as Usagi cried, so did Makoto, for she had seen the final breaking of the Sailor Senshi. They had saved the world. They had defeated every enemy. Now, they were finished. Even Usagi could not save them. Makoto knew that Minako would not talk things out with Usagi, but would fight her on "the field of honor," as Usagi had called it. At that thought, a grim smile touched Makoto's lips, though her tears kept flowing: for she knew that Minako would be no match for Usagi, and Usagi would give the traitor the beating she so richly deserved. That is, she thought, Usagi would do so, if she had the courage to transform in the face of the one that she had loved as a friend. Makoto would be there, to make sure it happened. Yes, she would... 

She turned to the Mew Mews. Three of the four were still watching the action inside of the room, but Mew Lettuce - sweet Lettuce - was watching Usagi, with sad concern on her face. Makoto gestured for Lettuce to come over, and she did so; and Makoto transferred the sobbing, helpless Usagi to their enemy's arms. Then she drew out her cell phone and pushed a button. After a few seconds, she spoke: "Mamoru-san, this is Makoto. Come to the emergency ward of Tokyo General. Usagi-san needs you, now." There was a pause in her speech, and then she spoke again. "No, she's OK, physically. But she needs you. Now." Then she was silent again, and finally spoke a third time: "Mamoru - _now!_" Then she snapped the phone closed, pocketed it, and took Usagi back into her arms. 

She needed a place to keep her, until Mamoru came. There was a waiting area at the end of the hall, by the front desk, where the rest rooms were. But it was crowded, and Usagi needed privacy. She could not take her back into the hated room 19B. There was nowhere else to go. She half-carried the heartbroken Moon Princess into the room across the hall, two doors down. 

That room, so full before, was now quite empty. The hated Mew Ichigo was in the bed, and only her boyfriend and her mother sat with her. The Mews were gone, watching the disintegration of the Sailor Senshi, and doubtlessly gloating over their enemies' fall. And the father was gone; he had to go to work, Makoto supposed. So there was a large chair available against the wall, almost like a love-seat, large enough for two; and Makoto led the sobbing Usagi to that chair. She sat, and placed Usagi's head in her lap, and stroked the long, blonde hair. 

Mew Ichigo's mother walked over. She looked younger than she had to be, considering that she had given birth to that stinking Ichigo. And her hair was, if anything, even redder than her daughter's. She looked down at Makoto, and spoke quietly. "It's as if you're her mother," she whispered. And then: "Just what is going on here? Who is that? Why is she crying? This is not your room. You don't belong here." 

Makoto looked back into the clear eyes of Ichigo's mother. "I had nowhere else to bring her. Her body is not hurt, but her heart has been broken - forever, I fear. I called her boyfriend, and he's coming to pick her up, and I will take care of her until then. Who is she? Her name is Tsukino Usagi, not that that would mean anything to you." 

Makoto grew silent, and the mother turned back to her daughter. "Ichigo-san, you owe me an explanation. What is going on here? You end up hurt and in the hospital, and you won't tell me what happened. Strange people that I have never met, or even heard of, come into the room and act strangely. I am frightened, my daughter. You owe me this. Tell me what is going on here!" 

Mew Ichigo sat up in bed, then swung her legs to the side, and unsteadily walked over to her mother. She looked straight into her mother's clear eyes, and spoke quietly: "Yes, mother. Yes, I have kept secrets from you for too long. For two years I have hidden my life from you, and father..."

The boyfriend spoke up. "Ichigo, do you really want to do this?" He walked over and put his arm around his girlfriend's waist, steadying her.

She looked into his eyes, and nodded; and he understood, though he lowered his eyes and sighed. And then she turned back to her mother. "That blonde girl here with us, with the crazy long hair, is one of the ones that hurt me. We fought, and she hurt me, but I hurt her more. I beat her. But her friends pretty much took me apart after that." 

"So you've been brawling, fighting? How? Some kind of stupid fight club or something?" the mother demanded. 

But Momomiya Ichigo shook her head. "Far worse than that, my mother. I have kept far worse secrets than that." And she separated herself from the boyfriend, walked over to the little closet where her clothes were hung, and drew something out of a pocket in her skirt. She looked straight into her mother's eyes, and said, pleadingly: "Mother, please do not hate me for this." Then she took the object, kissed it, and said, in a strong voice: "Mew Mew Strawberry, METAMORPHO-SIS!" 

And she rose into the air and started spinning, and her hospital gown magically transformed into a frilly pink minidress, and her hair and eyes became pink, and then there were ears, and a tail... And she settled on the ground before her mother, whose eyes stared in horror at what her daughter had become. 

"Ears! And a... TAIL!" Ichigo's mother wailed. "My daughter! _What are you? Are you even my daughter?"_

Mew Ichigo reached out and took her mother's trembling hand. "I am Ichigo. I am your daughter that loves you. That will never change. But... _I am a Mew Mew."_

""How?" the mother demanded loudly. And Ichigo spoke, quietly: "I was infused with cat DNA by a couple of - well, you could call them mad scientists. There were some space aliens trying to take over the earth and destroy humanity, but we defeated them, that is, I and the other Mew Mews, and Aoyama-kun, defeated them. That's when we were getting on the TV news, when we were fighting them. We all nearly died, and that includes Aoyama-kun, too. But we saved the world. And Mother, I'm sorry that I never told you, but I'm a freak, and I didn't think you and Father would approve, and so I hid what I was. I am so sorry, my mother. What I did was wrong, and cowardly. But I am what I am, and I can't stop being a Mew Mew."

Ichigo's mother's eyes were wide open in shock, but still she spoke: "Then that blonde with the freaky hair is a space alien?" 

Ichigo smiled. "No, my mother, dearest. The blonde is... the blonde is Sailor Moon." 

"Then you're telling me all that Sailor Moon stuff is real, too?" the mother demanded. 

Ichigo smiled, and nodded. But her mother asked, "Is Sailor Moon evil? I thought all those Sailor this-and-thats were supposed to be heroes." 

Ichigo dropped her eyes, no longer able to look into her mother's face. Still, the words came, though slowly, and with pain. "Yes, my mother, they are heroes, and they have saved the world many times. Sailor Moon and I, well, we just got too big for our own britches, too proud. I guess it all went to our heads, and we got into a stupid fight over who's the best magical girl in Tokyo, or some such nonsense. By the time it was done, I was nearly dead. In fact, they all thought I was dead. But Mew Zakuro can do healing magic, and she saved me... that's how I ended up here." 

"ICH-I-GO!" her mother half-screamed, in the same tone and cadence that her father used, though not as loudly. "What kind of a _baka_ have we raised?" 

Ichigo took her trembling mother in her arms, and held her close. "You have raised a true fool, my mother," she whispered. "But a fool that helped save the world. Yes, hate me for being so stupid as to fight with Sailor Moon. But mother... at least be proud of your daughter - that she won the fight." 

Tears now streamed without limit from the mother's eyes. "My dearest Ichigo, my precious, dearest, only child, if you would have only told me... What would I have done, if you had died fighting those aliens, or those other heroes...?" 

"Do you believe what I have told you?" Ichigo whispered. And her mother responded, "I can't deny that you have a tail." 

Ichigo led her mother over to the two strangers, the auburn-haired, tall girl with the green eyes (and, as Aoyama noted, a figure that would knock a truck over), and the blonde girl that wept on her lap. She looked into Makoto's eyes, and then said, "Show my mother." 

Makoto got up, and raised Usagi as well. They looked into each other's eyes, and nodded, and then each drew out her pendant, and called out: "MAKE-UP!" And they each sprang into the air, and spun around, and transformed; and presently, Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter stood glowing before them. Aoyama cringed, and he stepped in front of Ichigo, for he realized the danger she was in: two against one, and Ichigo so weak from her injuries. But Ichigo reached out, and touched his shoulder, and said quietly, "It's OK, my love. These two will not attack here, not in front of my mother. Maybe if our parents know, it will keep us from fighting again." 

But Makoto said: "My parents... are dead." 

Ichigo gasped, and said quietly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know." 

Makoto nodded, and dropped her eyes. "There are many things you don't know... " she began, and then stepped up to the cat girl. Mew Ichigo would not back away, and their eyes locked together. Perhaps Ichigo's innocent blunder would start the bloodshed again. 

But before another word was said, or another hand raised, Ichigo's mother stepped between the two magical girls. She was taller than Ichigo, though of course shorter than the powerful Sailor Jupiter; yet she stared into the big girl's eyes, her own eyes blazing. "Don't you even think of laying a finger on my daughter!" she said in a hard voice. 

"Mother!" Ichigo began. "She could crush you like a bug!" 

But Ichigo's mother did not move an inch, and in the end, Sailor Moon took Makoto by the arm and drew her away. Makoto hated this, but she would obey her Princess as the last loyal Sailor Senshi. And so there was no violence, just then. But suddenly the door opened, and the other Mews came piling in; and they saw the confrontation, and how their leader stood weak and alone against two of the enemy. Quickly the door closed behind them, and pendants came out, and the entire small room was filled with Mew Mews transforming. And then Mew Zakuro stepped forward from the others, and she held in her hand that cross-thing that would spawn that hateful whip. 

"What are you doing in here?" she demanded of Sailor Moon, not knowing that it was Sailor Jupiter, not Sailor Moon, that had led the other girl into Ichigo's room. 

Usagi felt the pride surge within her. Just who did these foolish upstarts think they were, making demands of her, the Moon Princess? She was outnumbered five to two, but Mew Ichigo was very weak, and in any case she would have to protect her mother, and her boyfriend. She began raising her pendant, to generate the Moon Scepter and destroy these vermin... And then she stopped, and smiled, that huge, wild smile that was hers and hers alone. And she spoke to Mew Ichigo's mother: "Now, maybe, you see how foolish pride can lead to fighting and even death." And she suddenly transformed back to plain old Usagi, and she slumped back into the chair against the wall. 

But Makoto would not transform back. She stood her ground, legs spread to give her a solid foundation to fight, her pendant held tightly in her right hand. She would _not_ let them touch her Princess, not as long as a single breath remained in her body. She would fight all five of them, and beat them if she must! But then Mew Ichigo stepped out from behind her mother, and touched her hand. 

She said nothing, but simply looked into Makoto's eyes; and then behind her, one after another, the Mew Mews transformed back into their normal human selves. Finally only Makoto and Ichigo remained in their transformed states. Makoto knew that this was her chance. She could destroy the horribly weakened Mew Ichigo with her magic, or with her bare hands! Then those fools over in 19B would know that victory would be Usagi's, and they would come back to her, and it could all be like it was before... 

No, it could not, Makoto knew. And if she killed the weakened and wounded Mew Ichigo, it would not be a fair fight. It would be murder, and she was no murderer. And then the other Mews would transform, and Usagi would transform, and there would be one final fight, and they would almost certainly lose. And for killing Mew Ichigo, she would die, and Usagi would die. And Usagi's death would mean that eternally she, Sailor Jupiter, would have failed as Sailor Senshi... She backed off, taking a protective stance in front of Usagi. 

Mew Ichigo transformed, and all but collapsed to the floor. Her mother caught her, and helped her back to the bed. She sat on the bed with her daughter and embraced her tenderly, and she said, "I like you so much better without the tail." And Ichigo laid her head on her mother's shoulder. 

Then finally Makoto transformed back, and she raised Usagi from the chair. "I think there's a parking lot out back," she said. "We can wait for Mamoru there." 

Usagi nodded, but spoke to her friend. "Why did you bring me in here in the first place?" 

And Makoto thought long before she answered. "Because it seemed like the safest place to bring you. I was so wrong, and I am so sorry, my Princess." 

Usagi nodded, and then left her friend and walked over to the bed. She bowed to Ichigo's mother, and then said to her enemy, "Is there any way this can end, other than a fight to the finish?" 

Ichigo looked down and then slowly shook her head. But Mew Zakuro spoke: "It is hard to trust you, when you have tried to kill us. And I will never forgive you for what you did to Ichigo." 

Makoto looked at her and stared deeply into those dark sapphire eyes, trying to read something of Zakuro's soul; but the eyes were opaque to her. So she spoke: "Thank you all for not starting the killing." And she took Usagi and led her out the door. 


	12. Chapter 12

Ami smiled. Rei was doing so much better now, and, after two nights in the hospital, she was home. Here at the shrine she was hardly safe, but at least those hateful Mew Mews wouldn't be just outside the door to her room all the time. And very soon, the way things were going, Rei would be able to take care of herself again. 

And so Ami bent down and embraced her comrade. "I will go now, Rei, and let you rest. Your grandfather will keep an eye on you, and I'm sure the others will come by." 

Rei did not smile. "I'm sure Mina-chan will come by," she muttered. "But that traitor Makoto, and that _baka_ Usagi, had better never darken my doorway again, or I'll..." She turned her face away in anger. 

Ami sighed. "Rei-chan, dearest, please. You don't have your pendant, and you can't transform. You can't hurt them, now. If they come, just tell them they're not welcome, or whatever. But if you pick a fight, you won't have a chance against either of them. And Rei - go ahead, hate me for lecturing you, but we're going to need those two, if we're ever going to beat those Mew Mews." 

Rei looked back, and her eyes blazed with anger. "We'll get my pendant back, somehow. We'll grab one of those damned Mews and trade her life for the pendant. Then we'll get the Outer Sailor Senshi to join us, and with them we'll crush those damned freaks. And then I'll take care of the _baka_ and the traitor." 

Ami sighed again. She wanted revenge, as well, but Rei's hatred for Usagi and Makoto was going to be a problem. Rei might even drive them to join their enemies. If the Senshi wouldn't get back together, Ami would have to choose: stand with Usagi and Makoto, or with Rei and Minako - or run like a coward. Well, she would never run. But she knew in her heart that she would never turn against Usagi, even if Usagi were the biggest _baka_ in all of Japan. No, Ami thought: she would have to heal this rift somehow, before they fought the Mews again. 

She forced a smile. "No more talk of fighting and killing, dear Rei-chan. Not now. Get yourself healed, and then we'll take care of those freaks." By "freaks," she meant, to herself, the Mew Mews; but of course she knew that Rei would read more into her statement than she meant, and include Usagi and Makoto among the freaks. 

Rei finally smiled the slightest bit. "Thank you, Ami-chan, for standing faithfully by me through this." 

Ami tried to smile, but tears streamed from her eyes as she said good-bye. Then she hurried from the room, and all but ran from the shrine. The anger and hatred that burned in Rei's heart hurt gentle Ami, and the thought of fighting with Usagi and Makoto was more than she could endure. And then, there was the matter of her mother, and the promise she had made the day before. She hurried to the bus stop, and got on a ride to the evil place, the Cafe Mew Mew. 


	13. Chapter 13

Ami got off the bus and checked the bag she carried. It was heavy, and she knew that what she needed was in there. She strode up to the ugly pink-painted building. She frowned. Whoever designed and decorated that building must have had an IQ below room temperature. But she was afraid to go in, in spite of all that. Yet she had to! The sign out front said "Closed," but she tried the door, and it was open. So she slipped in. 

At first, the place appeared empty, but then she heard some noise from the back. From the kitchen, she thought; they must be getting ready to re-open. She wondered which of those damned Mews was back there, which one of them she would have to face. Maybe there were several of them. If so, she could handle them all. 

She went through a door that said "Employees Only," and entered the kitchen. There was only one girl there, the green-haired freak that had tackled and held her more than once. Mew Lettuce! She seemed very busy, and did not even turn from whatever she was doing at the counter.

The green-haired girl spoke, without even looking. "Is that you, Mint?" she asked. "It's about time you showed up! Zakuro-san and Pudding-san are still at the hospital with Ichigo-san, and Ryou went there, too. We have to get ready to open this afternoon, and we're 'way behind. Mint..." 

Ami stopped, and spoke. "I'm not Mint." 

The girl turned around, and her mouth dropped open when she saw Ami. "What do you want?" she gasped, and her hand reached into a pocket on her apron, grabbing for her pendant. 

But Ami was ready and moved faster. She reached into the bag she carried and drew out a pistol, and pointed it at Lettuce's heart. "Don't touch that pendant, or I'll kill you!" 

Lettuce stopped, and her mouth fell open. Her eyes were huge with fear. "What do you want?" she finally stammered. 

"What I want," Ami began, "is revenge on you and your whole gang." She was as frightened as her enemy was, but tried not to let it show. "But right now, I'll settle for my pendant, and Rei's." She tried to smirk, but it didn't work. She was too scared. "And get them now, or I really will kill you." 

Lettuce nodded, and looked around. It seemed that no help was coming for her. She stammered again. "The pendants are in the safe, and I don't... I... I... Oh, hell, the safe's back here." She stumbled through a door and Ami followed. There was a safe in the wall, and Lettuce tried a combination. Then she tried the handle, but it wouldn't open. "Sorry," she gasped, "I must have got it wrong." She tried again, with trembling hands, and failed again. By this time she was shaking so violently that she could hardly turn the dial. And Ami did smirk, this time: this girl had repeatedly faced death and annihilation as a super-hero, but she was paralyzed with fear at the sight of a gun! And yet a third time the trembling Mew Mew turned the safe's dial; and this time, finally, it opened. 

Lettuce reached in and took out first one pendant, and then another. One dropped from her shaking hand and clattered on the floor. Ami started toward it, then thought the better of that, and said, "Pick it up, and any false move, I'll shoot." Lettuce managed to pick it up, and Ami said, "Now put them on the table over there." The Mew obeyed, and then Ami spoke once more: "Now, take out your own pendant, and put it there, too." 

The green-haired girl stared at Ami with wide eyes. Ami smirked. This was going far better than she had hoped. She would get her own pendant back, and Rei's; and at the same time, she would reduce the Mew she hated most to helplessness. Her enemy was hesitating, so she said, "Hurry. I can take it off your dead body as easily as off the table. And don't try transforming - I'll put ten holes in you before you even get started!" 

The shaking Lettuce slowly drew out her own pendant and placed it carefully on the table. Then, in obedience to Ami's gesture with the gun, she backed off, and stood trembling against the wall. 

Ami strode forward in triumph and took the pendants: first her own, then Rei's, then her enemy's. She put them all into the bag, and one last time she spoke. "Now, to deal with you..."

Lettuce shut her eyes, expecting the killing bullet to strike. But it did not come. Ami just turned to leave - and saw that they were not alone. The dark-haired man - Keiichiro - was standing there. 

She pointed the gun at him; but he did not tremble. Instead, he actually smiled a little, and he spoke: "Hey, that's a nice one, a real classic. A Nambu, eh?" he started walking toward Ami, who pointed the gun at his heart. 

"Where did you get such a nice one? It's really in good shape!" the man said. 

Ami answered, "It was may great-grandfather's. He had it in the war." The man kept approaching, and she waved it at him. "I'll shoot! I'll kill you!" But he just smiled. When he was a stride away, she jerked at the trigger, but nothing happened. The man seized her, twisted her wrist, and took the gun away. 

Then he examined it. "You see, Miss Sailor Senshi, I know how a Nambu works, and I could see there's no magazine in it - no bullets. I knew it wouldn't shoot." 

Suddenly Ami was knocked to the floor, and Mew Lettuce came down heavily on top of her. "You'll pay for this!" she shrieked. But Keiichiro just smiled, and said: "Enough, Lettuce-chan." 

They took Ami out of that room, back through the kitchen, and then into a small office, where they sat her on a chair. Then the man looked her in the eyes and lectured her. "Look, girl, this is out of hand. Guns? If you knew how to use one, Lettuce and I might be dead. I can't stop your side and the Mews from having your stupid magic war. I'm not magical, and I can't control you, or them. But you were talking killing, and you fools nearly killed Ichigo-san. Being a Magical Girl doesn't give you, or anyone..." He looked at Lettuce, and continued, "Or anyone, the right to murder. I would just as soon give you your pendant back, and be done with you, but I know it wouldn't end there. I fear this won't end before we have dead Magical Girls on our hands." 

Ami looked at the floor, then back at the man. "I must have my pendant back!" 

It was Lettuce who spoke. "Why? So you can kill me?" 

Ami stood up from the chair. "Because I promised my mother yesterday that I would show her what has been going on for the last three years, so I have to be able to transform, or she won't believe anything." She looked down again. "If I can't show her, she'll throw me out of the house." 

"You really want to live a double life, don't you!" Lettuce half-shouted. "You want a nice, safe, happy teen-ager's life in your mother's home, and then you want to go out and kill people. It doesn't work that way!" 

Ami shot back, "That's the way you live, isn't it?" 

And Lettuce shouted, "I don't try to kill my rivals!" 

Ami stared at the green-haired girl, her eyes seething with anger. "Give me back my pendant, and we'll settle this once and for all!" 

Lettuce pointed her finger right in Ami's face. "See! That's all you Sailor fools can talk about. Fighting! Killing! This all started when three of you ganged up on poor Ichigo - who beat your champion, if you don't remember! We're better than you are, and you can't take it!" 

And something snapped in sweet, mild-mannered, always-perfect Ami, and she hurled herself at Mew Lettuce. But Lettuce was bigger and stronger by far, and as before, she wrestled Ami to the floor, and this time began pummeling her with her fists. It would not have gone well with Ami, but the man's voice stopped the fight: "Enough!" And Lettuce obeyed, and stopped hitting Ami. 

Then a second man's voice spoke. "Hey, Keiichiro, if you're going to have some cat fights, invite me to watch." Ami looked, and there in the door of the room was the other man, the blond one. He strode up, and then said, "Ah... What's going on here?" 

Lettuce's glasses had been knocked off, but she knew the voice, and she blushed with shame. The man she loved had been watching, and she had been fighting like a bad-tempered child, or an uncouth thug! She looked around and found her glasses, and then stood, stammering, trying to say something to Ryou, but not being able to say anything. She lowered her face, and tears began seeping from her eyes, no matter what she did to try to stop them. 

Keiichiro spoke: "The Sailor girl, here, threatened Lettuce with a gun, to get their pendants back. She was stealing Lettuce's pendant, too. She also threatened me, but I could see the gun wasn't loaded - no magazine. So I took it away.." 

The blond man walked over to where Ami lay on the floor and said, "Get up." Ami rose, uncertainly, and the man stood before Ami and looked her in the eyes. "You knew it wasn't loaded, didn't you." 

Ami looked down, and nodded. "I just wanted my pendant back, so I could fulfill my promise to my mother. I promised her I'd show her what I've been up to the last three years." 

The blond man nodded. "I almost believe you, though you wouldn't have to steal Lettuce-san's pendant for that. Well, we can take care of this issue. We'll send Lettuce-san here, and Zakuro-san, and Pudding-san with you, and they'll bring your pendant. Then they'll let you transform for your mother. Then you'll give the pendant back, or they'll tear you to pieces in front of your mother." 

Keiichiro said, "Do you think that's wise? We've got to find a way to get them to stop fighting." 

The blond man shrugged. "Maybe she'll behave in front of her mother." The dark-haired man agreed, and they all went to work preparing for that evening's business, waiting for the other Mews to arrive. 


	14. Chapter 14

Mamoru pulled his motorcycle up right to the door. "Get off, Usagi-chan," he whispered. She slid off from behind him, and he turned to her and took her in his arms. His lips pressed against hers warmly, and she returned the kiss; and for a minute time stood still and the world passed away. Then, their lips parted, and he whispered: "Come on in, and tell me what's going on." 

Usagi nodded. She knew that she would have to tell him; he was Prince to her Princess. She was in a war and could hardly keep a war secret from him. Yet that was hardly what was on her mind. This was Mamoru's apartment, with his bedroom; she had yearned for that bedroom for so long... She indulged herself that fantasy, just for a few seconds. Yet she knew that honor demanded that they wait, and Mamoru was honorable; so _damned _honorable. Well, she thought, that made it easy for her. Usually it was the girl that had to work to maintain her honor. She would so work, if she had to; he made it easy for her. She sighed deeply. How much she loved him! 

He closed the door behind them, and she forced herself to walk, not to the bedroom, but to the kitchen, where a small table and two chairs awaited them. She sat in one, and Mamoru in the other. Usagi gazed longingly at him; but his eyes were dark. 

"Usagi-chan, what's going on? You don't keep secrets from me! And then yesterday Makoto calls me to a hospital. I half-died on the way, I was so worried! And then you wouldn't tell me what this is about! My love, what is going on?" His voice choked. 

Usagi stared at the floor. In her shame, she could not bear to look into his eyes. Tears came - they always did, with Usagi - and her words were slow, and half-whispered. "Mamoru, oh my love, I am so sorry... the Mew Mews, my love. The Mew... Mews." Her voice faded away. 

"The what?" he asked, incredulously. 

Finally Usagi looked at him. "The Mew Mews. Haven't you ever heard of them?" 

Mamoru was shaking his head, not comprehending the point. "Yeah, sure, who hasn't heard of them? They got quite a bit of press, a year or so ago. Magical girls. So what? This is Tokyo! The whole town just crawls with magical girls! There's hardly a school around that doesn't at least claim to have at least one or two of them." 

Usagi wept silently, shaking her head slowly. Then she spoke, even more haltingly than before. "Mamoru, my love, we heard these Mew Mews were throwing their weight around, acting all high and mighty. We heard that they thought they were Tokyo's real heroes. And all they are, are a bunch of freaks! When they transform, they have tails and everything! Well, Rei and Minako and I were walking through the park, and we saw one of them. It was that red-haired bitch that runs them, something-or-other Ichigo. Mamoru, we went up to her, and she got her back up, and.. and I..." Her voice choked, and the tears flowed freely. 

Mamoru took her hand. He was used to the tears but was also used to her chattering incessantly, and not used to her being unable to speak. "And then?" he asked; but she did not respond. So he said again, a little louder: "And then...?" 

She looked at him with teary eyes, and gasped out the words. "I transformed, and she transformed, and ... we fought. And... I..." Her voice trailed away into nothingness. 

"And you lost," Mamoru finished. He looked at her with solemn eyes. 

Usagi rose from her chair, circled the little table, and seized his arms tightly. "She beat me! And she planted her foot on me! And I was helpless! Mamoru, I'm the Moon Princess! I saved the world from Queen Beryl and Galaxia and all the rest of them, and I got beat by a cat-eared freak!" 

Mamoru rose and took the weeping girl into his arms. "It's not the first fight you lost, my love, and it won't be the last. Do you forget all those times you were saved by Tuxedo Mask? You weren't hurt too badly, I see. You can get over it, and if you are foolish enough, you can try to get revenge." 

"But it got worse, Mamoru," Usagi sobbed. "When the freak planted her foot on me, Rei and Minako pretty much went berserk. They attacked her, and she was pretty weak after fighting me, and they smashed her to pieces. They thought she was dead!" 

Mamoru stared into her eyes. "Dead? Murder? Have you Sailor Senshi gone mad?" 

Usagi tried to embrace him more closely, but he held her away and kept staring into her eyes. She could not endure his gaze, and she dropped her face and stared at the floor. "No, my love. She was almost dead, but she lives. One of the freaks has some kind of healing magic. But what happened was Makoto and Ami got there then, and they stopped the attack. The freak was all mangled, and really looked dead, and those two got into a squabble with Rei and Minako. They didn't see the freak's gang coming up, and they got taken by surprise. I was down, I couldn't fight, and our Senshi got hurt pretty bad... Minako really was injured. Then they drove the freaks off..." 

Mamoru now embraced Usagi tightly, holding her trembling body against his own. "So, you won the fight, after all," he whispered. 

But Usagi said, "No, Mamoru. They only left because they got the body of their leader. They were whipping us, and they knew it as well as we did. After the battle, we all knew we lost. Rei's temper got the better of her, and she ran after them. Then Ami went after Rei, but the freaks caught them both, defeated them, and took their pendants. Rei was hurt so bad she ended up in the hospital." 

"And how did she get there? Who found her?" Mamoru asked. 

"The freaks - they brought her there," Usagi muttered. 

Mamoru's voice changed suddenly. "Then they can't be as bad as you think they are." 

Usagi's tears began flowing again. "That's part of the problem, Mamoru. They're not bad, not really. This isn't like fighting Queen Beryl and her minions. We're not saving the world. We're fighting over pride, like two gangs fighting over turf." 

"Then it's simple enough," Mamoru said. "Just let go of it. You've got no good reason to fight them."

Usagi sobbed loudly, now. "Yes, I do! Because I lost, Rei and Minako turned on me, and they left us! They hate me, now! And anyway, I won't let that cat-eared freak beat me! I won't lose! I won't!" 

"Ah, my brave, beloved little _baka_!" Mamoru sighed. "You've got your courage up, I see. It takes forever for you to get there, but once you get your courage up, nothing ever stops you. So you think it's worth it? If Rei-san and Minako-san have left you, and the Mew Mews have Ami-san's pendant, then it's you and Makoto-san against all of them. And you think you can win that?" 

"I beat Beryl-sama, didn't I? And Galaxia-sama!" Usagi pushed herself away from him. "I told you, I won't lose!" 

"But you might, my love," Mamoru said, softly, once again embracing the sobbing girl. "And if you lose, you might... you might die. Is it worth risking your life, for this? For your pride?" 

"Yes!" Usagi half-shouted. "I would rather die than live with this shame!" 

Mamoru shook his head. He rested his hands on Usagi's shoulders, and spoke with a low but very clear voice. "You have become so proud! But Usagi-chan, if you die, how will I be able to live without you? It was always hard, to see you risk your life, but that was always to save the world. I could not bear to see you die for nothing but pride." 

Usagi looked up at him. Her huge blue eyes stared into his - her eyes that were now as hard as blue steel. "Mamoru, I won't lose!" 

But he just shook his head. "Then you will win, and _she_ will die. And you will be a murderer! You will have innocent blood on your hands. It will never come off!" 

"Not murder!" Usagi said through gritted teeth. "It would be a fair fight, a duel, like the samurai fought in the old days." 

Mamoru continued to shake his head. "The law hasn't allowed duels for a hundred years." 

"The law?" Usagi shouted. "I am Princess! In the future you and I will rule this world. I don't worry about that law! And anyway, no one will ever find out!" 

Mamoru still shook his head. "So, you are above the law, now?" The girl nodded, and Mamoru turned away from her. "That hurts, Usagi-chan. No one will find out? Does she have a family, friends, maybe a boyfriend? Don't their tears matter?" He spun back towards her. "Usagi, do you love me?" 

She nodded, and the anger suddenly left her face, as her great blue eyes opened wide in shock. And he continued, "Usagi, my love, if you fight this girl, and lose, and die, it will break my heart, forever. I will never be able to love again." 

"I told you. I won't lose!" Usagi squealed. 

Again he placed his hands on her shoulders, and this time he held tightly while he stared into those incredible blue eyes. "Usagi, I have loved you for so long, so many lifetimes. I don't even remember why I first loved you, so long ago. But I know why I fell in love with you this time. I loved the way you made everyone laugh. And I loved the simple, foolish, innocent goodness of your heart. Usagi, beloved, if you cast that goodness, that innocence, away... I would rather see you die than see you kill that girl and become evil. If you kill her - _I will never forgive you!_" 

Usagi gasped, and her face twisted in agony. It was as if a sword had passed through her heart. "Ma...mo...ru...!" she croaked. No, this could not be! He could not say that! And how dare he! How dare he deny her her revenge, for she was Princess! She would show him! She did not need him! She would destroy the Mew Mews, and crush Rei and Minako, and he would come crawling back to her, as he always had before! And if he didn't, who cared? She was the Moon Princess! All wanted her, all loved her! She didn't need him, she didn't need... his love... 

She seized him with a strength so great that it frightened him, and kissed him with a passion of such fire that it seemed as if the whole room burst into flames around them, burning, searing ever hotter, until the tears pouring from her eyes doused the flames. And she collapsed against his chest, and shook as she had never shaken before. And she knew. It took Usagi a long time to learn anything. But now, she knew. 


	15. Chapter 15

Ami's hand hesitated to turn the door handle. Behind her the three Mew Mews stood, each with her arms crossed, waiting with rising impatience. Mew Pudding began to say something, but Mew Zakuro silenced her with a glance. A full minute ticked by before Ami summoned the courage to open the door. 

Her mother was waiting, sitting in a chair across the room. Ami removed her shoes as she entered. Behind her, the three Mew Mews entered silently. They did not remove their shoes. The door closed. 

"Mama-sama," Ami began; but any further words caught in her throat. 

Her mother stood and faced Ami. "My daughter," she said, very formally. There was an uncomfortable silence, as she waited for Ami to say something; but Ami was silent. So her mother spoke again. "And who are they...?" she began, and then stopped suddenly, as she recognized the famous face of Fujiwara Zakuro. 

Still Ami could say nothing, as she squirmed under her mother's gaze. So Zakuro said: "Lettuce... Pudding." Each of those girls drew out her pendant, kissed it, and chanted, "METAMORPHO - SIS!" In a second the two girls were spinning in the air and transforming. Ami's mother stood there, staring, her mouth hanging open. She was a doctor and was wealthy and perhaps thought she had seen it all; but she had never seen anything like this. Soon two magical girls settled to the floor, one shapely and feminine in green, one short and playful in yellow. Then, it was Zakuro's turn, and she transformed as well, all purple grace and elegance, save for the wolf's ears and tail. Ami's mother stumbled back against the far wall, trembling. 

And Ami spoke. "These are Mew Mews." And each of the Mews introduced herself to the uncomprehending mother. 

There was more silence, and then Mew Lettuce stepped forward and placed Ami's pendant in her hand. Ami could feel the power there; it had been too long since she had held her pendant. How it gave her confidence! She held it up, and chanted, "Mercury... Power... MAKE UP!" And then, as her mother looked on, she rose into the air, and spun, and changed from the demure, studious Ami to the dangerous and sexy Sailor Mercury. She finally settled to the floor and walked over to where her mother, pale and trembling, wavered on her feet. 

Her mother was babbling. "What... who..." 

Ami took her hands. "Mother, for the last three years, I have been Sailor Mercury." 

"You're what?" her mother babbled on, uncomprehending.

Ami looked her in the eyes. "For three years I have fought as a Sailor Senshi to save the world. I've had many adventures. I've been to outer space, and I've been to the future. And I even died once." 

"What? What?" her mother said. None of this made any sense.

Ami continued, "I guard our Princess, Sailor Moon, with the other Sailor Senshi." 

Finally, her mother managed to say something. "And those others, with the tails - those are your friends?" 

"No, mother," Ami answered. "Those are my enemies. Yesterday I told you about half-animal witches, but you didn't believe me. They are here to guard me, and to take back my magical pendant when we're done here." 

Finally something exploded in her mother's heart, and she shouted out: "You even DIED once? And you have hidden this from me for three years?" 

Ami looked at the floor. "I knew you would not approve. How could I tell you?" 

Ami's mother slapped Ami across the face. "You're damned right I don't approve! How dare you bring such shame upon this family! I gave you everything! You were the best! You would have gone to the best schools, the best university! You could have been the most famous doctor in all of Japan! What are you now? You're a... you're a... freak!" 

"At least, mother, I don't have a tail!" Ami snapped back at her mother, and gained another slap across the face. "Maybe you should be proud that I helped save the world five times!" 

Ami's insolence was more than her mother could endure. There was no control left in the woman who lived by self-control, and she repeatedly slapped her daughter's face. And each slap tore Ami's soul, for Ami had not only loved her mother, but had admired and respected her - something so rare for a girl her age. And even perfect Ami's soul could take just so much pain; and finally she raised her white-gloved hand, and struck back, hard.

But Ami wasn't just Ami any more. She was transformed; she was Sailor Mercury. And while she had nothing of the brutal strength of Sailor Jupiter, or even of most of the Mew Mews, she still had physical strength beyond what her mother, or she herself, realized. And with that blow, her mother was knocked backwards, and her head struck the wall, and she crumpled like a rag-doll. 

And Ami stopped, and looked at her mother upon the floor, and then at her hand. What had she done? She fell to her knees. "Mother! Mother! Mama-sama!" she begged; but her mother's eyes did not open. Ami was in a total panic, but she was still Ami, and she stripped off her glove and felt her mother's neck for a pulse, not daring to breathe. At first, she could feel nothing, and her own heart nearly stopped. But then she could feel it: her mother's pulse was there. And Ami breathed, finally. 

Then Mew Zakuro was kneeling beside her, loosening her mother's collar, trying to stretch her body upon the floor. And Ami turned on her, and screamed, "Don't you touch her, you filthy freak!" 

Mew Zakuro did not even look at the other girl, but only spoke softly. "It was not I that hurt her." And then Mew Lettuce appeared with a glass of water and a cloth, and Zakuro bathed the poor woman's forehead, and finally, her eyes opened. And Ami burst wildly into tears, and laid her head upon her mother's breast, and sobbed: "Oh, mother, oh Mama-sama, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, my mother..." 

And then, Ami's mother spoke, with a sad, hard voice that destroyed what was left of Ami's soul: "Get out of this house, and never show your face before me again! You are not my daughter! BEGONE!" And Ami again stopped breathing, and she rolled away from her mother upon the floor, curled up upon her side in a fetal position, and sobbed uncontrollably. Her mother kept screaming, "Get out! Get out of my house! Get out of my sight!" But poor Ami just cried upon the floor. 

Finally Ami rose, slowly and weakly, and stumbled from the room. They heard her footsteps on the stairs as she ran toward her own room. Zakuro was going to tell the other two Mew Mews to follow her, but Lettuce was already going, and Pudding was following her. Soon Zakuro was alone with Ami's mother there on the floor. 

The older woman spoke, weakly now: "Help me stand." 

But Zakuro said, "You probably have a concussion. You might be hemorrhaging in your brain." 

But Ami's mother retorted, "I'm a doctor. Do you think I don't know that?" She tried to stand, but she collapsed into the kneeling Zakuro, who held her in her arms. 

Zakuro now spoke in a gentle half-whisper. "You have one more chance. She's going to pack a few pitiful things, and run away. She is proud. She may never return..." 

And Ami's mother said, "She had better not ever return!" 

But Zakuro said, "You have broken her heart." 

And Ami's mother retorted, "She broke mine first." 

Zakuro was silent for a long while, and then she whispered, "Every daughter breaks her mother's heart, sooner or later. She may not be the perfect daughter of your dreams. But you have a good, loving daughter, a wise and noble daughter, a brave hero of a daughter." She was silent again, for several seconds, and then she whispered even more quietly, "I grew up pretty much alone. I left home when I was about Ami's age. It is a sad, lonely life. Your daughter deserves better." 

Ami's mother was silent. Zakuro looked into her eyes and saw the war there: on the one side, wounded pride and shame and broken dreams; on the other side, love standing alone. And the Mew Mew said, "I have one thing I can do for you, and for your daughter." And she drew out from her top a tiny glass vial on a small chain. She sat with her back to the wall, and took the injured woman into her arms, and held the woman's injured head against her breast. And her lips began moving, though no words could be heard. 

"What are you doing?" Ami's mother demanded. "I don't believe in mumbo-jumbo." But Zakuro seemed lost in her words, and she held the vial against the woman's heart, and a soft light seemed to surround them. And a great warmth swept over both of them; and then all was still. 

Ami's mother stood, suddenly. She felt her head; there seemed no injury. She didn't even have a headache. She took Zakuro's hand and raised her up, and she asked, "What did you do?" 

"What you do not believe in," Zakuro said, quietly. 

Then they heard footsteps above; Ami and the other two were coming down. And Zakuro said: "It is your last chance, Mizuno-sama." 

And the woman looked into Zakuro's eyes, and then she walked and stood in front of the door. And when Ami came stumbling down the steps carrying one small bag, her mother walked to her, and opened her arms. Not a word was said. For a second, Ami hesitated, as love and pride warred in her soul, as well, and then she fell into her mother's arms and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. 

Finally, Ami turned from her mother, and drew out her pendant, and transformed. She was Sailor Mercury no longer, and she reached out to give the pendant to Lettuce. But sweet Lettuce said, "No. It is yours, not mine." 

Ami looked at Lettuce, then at Zakuro. Then she threw herself back into her mother's arms, and wept again. And Zakuro smiled; and the Mews transformed and left silently. 

After they closed the door behind them, Zakuro turned to Lettuce. "A few hours ago, she was threatening to kill you, and you were trying to beat her up." 

And Lettuce said, "I know. I am quite the _baka_, aren't I?" 

But Zakuro said, "Yes, you are, dear, precious Lettuce-chan. You are the best _baka_ of all of us." 


	16. Chapter 16

Usagi hesitated outside the door to the hospital room. She was alone, and she was frightened. She wished Mamoru was here with her; she needed his wisdom. And Makoto had offered to come as well. Faithful Makoto! Usagi did not understand that girl. She had been less close to Makoto than to the other Senshi: she had been closest friends with Ami; she had waged her friendly rivalry war with Rei; she had looked up to and admired Minako. But now Rei and Minako had turned their backs on her, and hated her; and poor Ami was caught in the middle, unable to take either side. But Makoto had stood by her, strong and faithful. Was she really that much better than the rest of them?

But she could not be here, now. Usagi knew that she had to do this alone. It was she alone that had started the war, by stupidly fighting with Mew Ichigo; and she alone that would have to end it. She pushed on the door, and it opened. 

Usagi blinked. It was so much dimmer in the room than in the hall. The hated Ichigo was in the bed, and her mother and boyfriend sat on either side of her. There was no one else there. Usagi walked slowly over to the bed. But Ichigo's mother said: "You are not welcome here." 

Usagi looked at her. "I know," she said. Then she turned to Ichigo. "Are you getting better?" 

The red-haired girl looked at her strangely. "Did you hear my mother? You are not welcome here." 

Usagi simply said, "I know." Then she said: "We must talk. Now. And I need to know how you are doing." 

Ichigo stared at her, and then she answered, "My physical wounds are quite healed, but I am weak, so weak. The doctors don't really understand why." 

Usagi nodded. She tried to find a nice way to say what needed saying, but her mind turned far too slowly, And in any case, she was not sure there was a nice way to say it. So she simply asked, "What can we do? Must this war go on, to the finish?" 

Ichigo was silent, but Aoyama spoke. "There is no reason for you to fight. Both sides could simply walk away from this." 

"Spoken like a man," Usagi muttered. "Your girlfriend knows better. It isn't as simple as that, because we are both proud, and our pride is tied up in this. And there's something more. The Sailor Senshi have broken up over this. Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars have turned their backs on me. I am supposed to be Princess Serenity, Princess of the Moon. I must conquer, or they will not respect me. They will not follow a loser." 

Ichigo's mother broke in. "They are most unfaithful friends." 

Usagi nodded, and was silent for several seconds. Then she spoke: "They do not take defeat easily - nor do I. But I must emerge victorious as the Princess, or they will never come back. And the Sailor Senshi must be kept together, to protect the world." She sighed. 

Aoyama said, "I know that the Mew Mews have the pendants of Mercury and Mars. That means that there are only three of you, to fight the five Mew Mews. You will be crushed, maybe killed." 

But Usagi shook her head. "You have never seen me in my full power and glory," she said, quietly. "And there are more Sailor Senshi, those of the Outer Planets. They are more powerful than the Senshi of the Inner Planets, the ones you know. And - and you, Ichigo-san, are too weak to fight. All you would do in a battle is get yourself killed." 

Ichigo's violet-gray eyes blazed. "You think so? Like you thought last time, Sai-lah Moon?" She said the name with a sneer, in the same intonation that Queen Beryl had always used; and that sound tore at Usagi's heart. 

And Ichigo spoke, again. "We cannot just walk away from this. Either one of us must bend the knee to the other, or we must fight to the finish. I do not want that. I do not want to die, and I do not want to surrender to you." 

Usagi said. "Yes, I think that is it. But I cannot bend the knee to you. I am the Princess. I cannot bow to a half-animal freak." 

Ichigo's mother rose at that last remark, and raised her hand to strike. But Ichigo said, "Mother, I love you, but you will get yourself badly hurt. Please, no fighting! Please!" Then she turned to Usagi. "I do not wish to kill, and I do not wish to die, and I do not wish to submit to someone I have defeated." She sighed. "Aoyama-kun, what do you advise me to do?" 

He turned to her. "Ichigo-chan, I love you. I could not endure to see you die. I could not endure seeing you destroy these other girls, either. Yet I know your heart. You will never want to submit! Ichigo, if I could - could I stand in your place? I will submit, or take the blows meant for you. Would that be good enough?" 

But Ichigo responded, "Aoyama-kun, no, please no. I could not endure seeing you suffer. When the aliens were hurting you, it tore my heart to pieces." Then she turned her head to the other side, and said to her mother, "What do you advise?" 

And Ichigo's mother said, in a strong voice: "I, too, could neither bear to see you die, nor to kill. Yet I know you: you are a Momomiya. You will never run from a fight. Your father never did, nor I; and you are stronger than either of us. But be sure of this: if the battle comes, you will not fight alone. I will die by your side." 

Ichigo shut her eyes to keep the tears back, but they leaked out anyway. And she said, "Sailor Moon, when I get out of the hospital, I will give you an answer." She tried to smile, but could not. 

Usagi nodded, and started to turn away; but then she stopped. "Moon Crystal Power,,, MAKE UP!" she chanted, and suddenly she was spinning in the air, transforming into the glowing Sailor Moon. Then she turned to the bed, and raised her scepter; and she chanted, again: "Moon... Healing... ESCALATION!" A brilliant light flashed over the body of Mew Ichigo, a light brighter than any she had ever seen. And when it passed, the red-haired girl felt energy racing through her formerly tired body. 

Ichigo all but leaped from the bed. "What was that?" she asked. 

And Usagi said, "I can't heal physical wounds, like your girl does, at least not very well at all. But I can restore your life energy." Then she smiled, that huge, wild, Sailor Moon smile, and turned to go. And as she was leaving she said, "The day after tomorrow, at Cafe Mew Mew, before you open." Then she bounced out of the door without even transforming back to simple Usagi, and nearly bowled over a nurse who was coming through from the other direction. She simply smiled at the nurse and headed down the hall. 

And the nurse, completely befuddled, asked: "What was going on in here?" 

And Ichigo answered simply, "Sailor Moon." 

And the nurse said, "What...?" 


	17. Chapter 17

Mew Zakuro came up behind the red-haired girl and spoke quietly. "Ichigo, what's wrong?" 

Ichigo turned to the older girl. "Hey, I'm fine," she said. "I'm completely recovered, really. I'm as strong as ever..." 

"And you're scared to death," Zakuro interrupted. "Or you're horribly nervous about something. Trouble with Aoyama-kun, or with the family, maybe? Or worried about the Sailor Senshi?" 

Ichigo turned away, not wanting to face those deep sapphire eyes. "It's just fine with Aoyama-kun, and I'm on better terms with my parents than I've been in years. And yes, I'm worried about those Sailor jerks, and you should be, too. You never know when they might attack, or where they might attack, or whom they might attack." 

Zakuro took the red-haired girl by the shoulder, turned her around, and stared into her eyes, trying to read her soul. "They are our enemies, Mew Ichigo. But they have fought us honorably. They have not struck unfairly, or shot us in the back." That was not exactly true, Zakuro thought, given the way that Ami had tried to steal those pendants. Ami had lied - no honor in that. Still, there had been no cheap attacks. "They have given us no indication that they might strike at our loved ones, or something else as dastardly as that." 

Ichigo looked at the clock on the wall. It was just past 11:30; they would open in half an hour. Soon they would be putting the "Open" sign out. Soon, soon... 

Then the front door opened, and in strode Sailor Moon and her two loyal supporters, mighty Sailor Jupiter and brilliant Sailor Mercury. They were already transformed, and they stood there, arms crossed, with Sailor Moon standing slightly in front of the other two. And Sailor Moon pointed her finger, and spoke in a clear, commanding voice: "Mew Ichigo! Come forward! In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"

So that was it, Zakuro thought, as she kissed her pendant and chanted "METAMORPHO - SIS!" Ichigo had been so nervous because she knew this was coming, or at least expected it. One final battle, probably to the death! Ichigo had been so close to dying last time; it might not have been surprising that she was frightened this time. But Zakuro knew Ichigo. She was always so brave! Why was she so afraid, now? 

Fully transformed, Zakuro took her place in front of her leader, to protect her. Mew Lettuce and Mew Pudding took their places beside her, while Mew Mint slipped a bit off to the left for a different angle of attack. Zakuro's eyes searched the room to see if there were any other Sailor Senshi sneaking up to attack; there were none. But Aoyama had appeared, coming out from the kitchen. What was he doing there? He wasn't supposed to be working that day. 

And Ichigo had not transformed. She stood rooted to the floor, seemingly paralyzed with fear. Perhaps she could not, Zakuro thought. Maybe she had lost that ability, due to nearly dying! That would explain her fear, Zakuro thought. But no; she had transformed in the hospital room. Then why had she not transformed, now? If she did not transform, she would perish very quickly in any battle. But then why would she not run? She was staring at Aoyama, who was nodding. They were saying no words, but he was telling her something. Finally, Ichigo nodded, and turned toward their enemies. 

"Mew Mew Strawberry, METAMORPHO - SIS!" she shouted, and spun herself up into the air, turning quickly into their cat-eared champion. So she can transform, Zakuro thought. Then what was going on? Ichigo reached out, and took her Strawberry Bell as it appeared. Then she gently pushed Zakuro aside. "Stay here," she whispered. 

And Ichigo stepped forward. Holding her Strawberry Bell before her, she advanced on their enemies. And she advanced alone, one tentative step after the other. Each step seemed to be a greater burden to her, but Ichigo was nothing if not brave. And finally she stood before Sailor Moon. 

There, she stood as if paralyzed, though her entire body was shaking, and her breath was coming in gasps. She seemed so small, so insignificant, before the glowing, taller form of Sailor Moon. Still, she was staring full into the great shining blue eyes of the Moon Princess, and she stood straight and proud, no matter how much she was shaking. 

And then she lowered her proud head, and she fell to her knee, and she laid the Strawberry Bell on the floor at Sailor Moon's feet. 

She was weeping now. The room was silent except for her sobs, and they could all hear them. Mew Lettuce took a step forward, as if to attack; but Zakuro stopped her with a touch of her arm. They all were waiting upon the glorious, glowing Sailor Moon, and on the insignificant, cat-tailed girl in pink that knelt before her. 

And Sailor Moon spoke, loudly and clearly. "Mew Ichigo, do you accept me as your Princess?" 

The room was silent; and then, a tiny voice: "Yes." 

The Moon Princess spoke again, even more clearly: "Mew Ichigo, do you pledge yourself and your followers in service to me as your Princess?" 

In a weak gasp, Ichigo responded, "Yes." She was shaking so hard that she was nearly falling over. 

A third time Sailor Moon spoke. "Mew Ichigo, turn your face up and look me in the eye!" The girl in pink did so, and the Princess demanded: "Mew Ichigo, will you kiss my fat butt?" 

For several seconds, the entire room was silent, and then Ichigo's voice shrieked: "NO!" 

And Sailor Moon laughed, and shouted, "Good!" And she took the cat-eared girl by the hand and raised her to her feet. And they all breathed again. 

And then, suddenly, Sailor Moon fell to her knee before Ichigo, still holding her hand, and gasped: "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" And she laid her head against Ichigo's body and burst into tears. And Ichigo suddenly said: "You guys want some cake and ice cream?" 

And they all laughed. And, at least officially, the Mew War ended there. 

It was later that Mew Zakuro cornered Ichigo, and thinking them alone, asked her, "Why did you kneel before her? How could you swallow your pride like that?" 

"Because she is a Princess," Ichigo said, simply. Yes, it could be that simple to Ichigo, Zakuro thought. But as she turned away, she saw that they were not alone. Sailor Moon had come up behind them. And Zakuro looked into Usagi's clear eyes, and asked, "And why did you kneel before Ichigo?"

"Because she is a Saint," Usagi answered, just as simply. 

Zakuro turned to walk away. If only she could see life in such simple terms as those two! But she could not. She turned back, and said: "Sailor Moon." 

The Moon Princess turned back to her. Her glowing blue eyes were huge even for an anime girl's, and Zakuro stared straight into them. Zakuro's voice was not loud, but it was very hard. "Just remember, I am not the saint that Ichigo is. And I will never forgive the Sailor Senshi for what they did to Ichigo." 

And Usagi responded: "It is good, then, that your leader is a far better woman than you could ever be." And she turned and walked away. 

The verbal slap had stung, but Zakuro's face showed no emotion. She knew that the rivalry between the Mews and the Sailors would not end over cake and ice cream. Still, she would follow Ichigo's lead, and Ichigo was so noble. And perhaps, if Ichigo remained noble, then Sailor Moon might, too. Perhaps, for a while, there would be no fighting, and no killing. Perhaps... 

As she turned away, she saw Mew Lettuce and Sailor Mercury facing each other. Each was holding a small plate with cake and ice cream, but the eyes of each were hurling daggers at the other. Zakuro wondered if one would shove the cake in the other's face, and the fighting would begin again. Lettuce was such a sweet, gentle soul; and Mercury had the same reputation. But they clearly hated each other. Why? Perhaps they were too much alike. But then Lettuce turned away from her rival. That was good; no fighting yet! Zakuro would have to have a talk with Lettuce. Soon... 

No, this rivalry was far from over. Against the far wall Zakuro saw Sailor Jupiter standing alone, seemingly quite tense. Zakuro watched her eyes; the girl's eyes were following Sailor Moon, who was bouncing around the room, seemingly enjoying the Mew Mews as if they were all best friends. But Makoto was still worried, and she was standing guard, lest anyone hurt her Princess. Her faithfulness was exemplary, Zakuro supposed; but the war wasn't over for her, yet, either. No, not yet... 

Still, if the war was not really over, at least for now, the fighting was done. Zakuro was thankful for that. And, she thought, it was far better to follow a Saint than a Princess. And if all did not seem right in the world, at least for a moment, Zakuro smiled, a rare thing...

But then her sharp wolf ears heard something: Mew Mint's voice, muttering something to Mew Pudding in some far corner: "Weakling... Coward!" 

Zakuro sighed. Some things never changed, and Mint was one of them. Just one... 

THE END


End file.
